Police appeal after girl threatened

Detectives in Stoke-on-Trent are appealing for help to trace a man who threatened a nine-year-old girl.

Police believe he could have been trying to abduct her.

The girl was playing on Red Bank in Normacot around 1800 BST on Sunday when the man approached her.

He threatened her and pushed her over causing minor injuries to her face and hands.

Baseball cap

The man then went back to his car, which was parked with the door open at the road's junction with Dilhorne Grove, and drove off along Russell Street.

Police, who are treating the incident as "very serious", say it is possible the man wanted to abduct the girl but he was stopped by her brother who raised the alarm.

They want to talk to anyone who saw the man who is described as Asian, in his 20s and was wearing a dark hooded top, sandals, a blue baseball cap and a black scarf around his face.

Parents and nearby schools are being warned to be vigilant and not to let children play on their own.