Stranger tried to coax Bristol girls into car
Two Bristol schoolgirls say they hid in bushes for more than half an hour after a stranger tried to coax them into his car and chased them down the road.
Samantha Hunt and Katie Willett, both 13, were walking along Fulford Road to the Bridge Learning Campus in Hartcliffe when they heard a driver beep his horn at them.
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Stranger tried to coax Bristol girls Samantha Hunt and Katie Willett into a car
Year 8 pupil Samantha said she was terrified by the incident and was now afraid to walk to school.
Police say they are investigating the incident, which is not being linked with any other recent reports of attempted abductions in the Bristol area.
Samantha said: "We looked at him, thinking 'what?' and walked on a bit more.
"He shouted 'get in the car', got out and started chasing us.
"We hid in the bushes and were in there for ages.
"We were really scared. When we got out, he wasn't there any more."
Samantha said the man was white, of medium build and with scruffy black short- to medium-length hair.
He had stubble and was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, with holes in them.
He had muddy trainers on and spoke in an English accent that wasn't from the Bristol area.
He was driving a small green car when the incident happened before 9am last Wednesday.
Samantha added: "I'm really scared about walking to school now."
Katie now walks to school with her mum Jane.
She said: "When we were hiding I was really upset and scared."
When the girls arrived at their school on Teyfant Road they told the teachers what happened and staff reported it to the police later that morning.
But Samantha's parents Sally and Ian are unhappy officers did not visit the family at their house on Wexford Road until 5.50pm that day.
Sally, 45, said: "It's two girls being chased by a bloke and there seems to be a lot of it going around at the moment.
"The police should have come straight away and he might have been spotted in the area.
"We have to take Sam to school now because she's lost all confidence."
Avon and Somerset police spokeswoman Catherine Foster said: "Police were called to Hawkfield Road at 10.44am on Wednesday, June 24, after reports that a man had approached two girls and asked them to get into his car.
"The two girls ran away and officers conducted a search of the area.
"The incident is still under investigation.
"There is a formal complaints procedure in place for anybody who is not satisfied with the service they have received from the police."
Anyone who believes they saw the incident or knows who the suspect is should call 0845 456 7000.
16 Comments
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by Captain Jack Sparrow, Hiding in the bushes at World's End
Tuesday, June 30 2009, 3:26PM
“Just re-read the article. Liked the comment "didn't speak with a Bristol accent"
Seeing as the girls are from South Bristol that probably just means he didn't say "Allright my babers, thist want to get in my car"?”
by michelle, Bristol
Tuesday, June 30 2009, 2:46PM
“I have a feeling they didn't even get there til about 10am. I doubt the teachers would wait before calling the police if they heard someone shouted for them to get in the car and ran after them. They would take those allegations quite seriously.
Those girls need a lie detector test I think.”
by Graham, Sea MIlls
Tuesday, June 30 2009, 1:42PM
“Two girls and not a mobile phone between them to ring the Police ?
So they wait until they get to school and then the teachers eventually ring the Police halway through the morning at 10.45am ?
How can the police be expected to catch this man...if he exists, when its not reported for two hours !!!!”
by Elsie, Bristol
Tuesday, June 30 2009, 1:09PM
“Their story doesn't ring true for me either. To me, it sounds like they needed an excuse for being 30 minutes late for school. And I wonder if that's why the school didn't call the police immediately.”
by Andrew, South East Bristol
Tuesday, June 30 2009, 12:07PM
“Uummm......... this does not make a lot of sense, I feel these two girls are not being intirelly honest
Drving a car, shouted out ` get in the car ' . To two teenagers. Stopped and chased after them. Hid in a bush for half an hour. What this person spent half an hour looking for them ????? If they hid and were not seen this man I am sure would of done a runner.”
by William, Bristol
Tuesday, June 30 2009, 12:01PM
“I think stories reported in this way do a lot of damage to our community.
Yes, it is a worry on a personal level to the 2 girls and to the parents, but more importantly they did not get into the car, they ran away. These incidents, contrary to popular opinion, are rare. It is not definite that he was going to abduct the girls ¿ his actions are unclear and unexplained. It is good that they ran away, but because of that no one can be sure of his intentions.
Although a news story, this is scaremongering that negatively influences parents and young people, and propagates the belief that the streets are not safe. The reporter should have spoken to Police in detail and backed up the story with some of the facts that would have helped to put this into perspective and reassured people.
I think there is an ethical and professional responsibility to do that.”
by Captain Jack Sparrow, At world's end
Tuesday, June 30 2009, 11:30AM
“Having had a look at Google Maps for Fulford Road, I am hard pressed to see any parts of the road that is not overlooked by houses. Where are the bushes they hid in for 30 minutes? Good previous point about using there mobiles.
Police can suss out pretty quickly if there was an incident or not, hence the line about the complaints proceedure.
People love to get whipped up into a frenzy over these (non) stranger abductions. If a child is to be assaulted, it is sad to say that in 99.99% of the time it is someone known and trusted by the victim.
Also, as with all these stories, nobody had the wherewithall to get a number plate of the car which would have foiled his plan pretty quickly. How often I seen these reports in the BEP with the same outline, kids approached and asked to get into car, no-one gets number plate and only the vaguest description of the car & suspect, No trace of the car on the multitude of CCTV cameras that cover our city and never hear anything on the matter again.
Finally, 30 minutes hiding in bushes on Fulford Road, 5 minutes I can believe but 30 ???
I am not making light of these situations but this story has more holes in it than my dartboard!”
by A dad, BS15
Tuesday, June 30 2009, 11:29AM
“Well i thought Mr blue's comments were very funny before it got deleted, infact i might even try that chat up line tonight.Now...where's my Transit keys ?”
by A mum, Bristol
Tuesday, June 30 2009, 9:35AM
“Mike-thats a stupid comment. "Just don't have kids". What are people who already have kids supposed to do? Plus not everyone is a bad parent!
More like just raise your kids properly!
Mr Blue-Do you honestly think that comment was funny? Or smart? Because I seriously dont!”
by R, Fishponds
Tuesday, June 30 2009, 9:05AM
“Julraj, don't be despicable. I appreciate Hartcliffe isn't one of the nicest areas in Bristol, but that doesn't mean to say the children living in that area shouldn't have the same amount of police protection as "nicer areas" of the city. That's ridiculous.”