Baby snatch investigation dropped

Nicole Kemp claimed the man had a Southern accent

Police have dropped a criminal investigation into allegations a man tried to abduct a nine-week old boy from a Teesside beach.

Nicole Kemp, 17, claimed a man had attempted to snatch her son, Mitchell, as she walked on Skinningrove beach on Thursday lunchtime.

But detectives are no longer treating the incident as a criminal offence after new information from two people.

Cleveland Police are now investigating why a crime was reported.

Ms Kemp said the man had run off after grabbing her child from a pushchair and that her screams alerted a passer-by who managed to free the baby by tackling the would-be-abductor.

Ch Insp Chris Sadler said: "The police are no longer investigating the matter as a criminal offence of attempted abduction.

"Inquiries are going on to establish the circumstances which led to the matter being reported as a crime."