DETECTIVES investigating an 'attempted child abduction' in a Blackburn supermarket are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

A three-year-old girl was allegedly picked up by a man as she walked with her mum who was pushing a pram containing another child on the travelator.

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CCTV footage of the area shows a number of people in the vicinity at the time and officers are urging anyone who was there to contact them.

DI Tim McDermott of Blackburn CID said: “This nature of this incident was such that someone may not even realise what they’ve seen so I would ask anyone who was around the travelator in the store at around 3pm on Thursday afternoon to get in touch.

“In particular we know that there was a man who spoke to the child’s mother at the top of the travelator and also a woman who was on the travelator at the time of the alleged incident.

"We are very keen to speak to both of them and if they see this appeal I would urge them to make contact with us.”

Anyone with information can call us on 101 quoting incident reference 787 of November 3rd. 

Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.

Mohmed Dadhiwala, 44, of Chester Street, Blackburn has been charged with child abduction and appeared at Blackburn Magistrates Court this morning.

He was remanded into custody until his next court appearance on November 21.