Man arrested after ‘attempted abduction ‘of girl, 9, at Pontins Southport

Man arrested after ‘attempted abduction ‘ of girl, 9, at Pontins Southport

Merseyside Police has arrested a man on suspicion of attempted child abduction following reports of a disturbance in Ainsdale on Saturday, 9 September.

At around 10pm, a call was received reporting a disturbance at Pontins Holiday Park in Shore Road. Police attended and were informed that security officers had detained a man after allegations that a 9-year-old girl had been approached and attempts made to grab her.

A 21-year-old man from Bolton was arrested on suspicion of attempted abduction and was taken into custody for questioning by detectives. He has been released pending further investigation.

CCTV and witness enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the incident and anyone with information is asked to contact police.

Detective Inspector Robbie Moss said: “I would like to reassure the community that we take any reports of this nature extremely seriously and enquiries are ongoing to establish exactly what happened.

“Security staff at the location acted quickly to detain the man and I would urge any witnesses to speak to us immediately.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident or saw anything suspicious that could help is asked to contact 101 or you can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously and for free on 0800 555 111 or via their online form: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online