Children 'abducted by mother'

Two young children in state care in the North are believed to have been abducted by their mother, police said.

The girl and boy, Pinar, six, and Fernando Boyle, three, were last seen with their mother Elizabeth, 35, at a play centre near Newry yesterday afternoon.

The children were not returned to the care of social workers yesterday and it is assumed they remain with their mother.

A police spokeswoman said: “This is being treated as a parental abduction.”

The children were last seen at Cheeky Monkeys play centre at Sheepbridge yesterday with their mother.

Police and the Southern Health Social Care Trust are concerned for the safety and well being of the children and appealed for their mother or anybody who knows their whereabouts to contact them immediately.