UK: Six-year-old girl snatched from bathroom

A six-year-old girl was snatched from the bathroom of her home before being assaulted and left naked in a nearby street, police said today.

Detectives say they want to speak to a man who was seen loitering around the area dressed in dark clothes and dark gloves.

Northumbria Police said specially trained officers are today waiting to speak to the youngster who they say had been left distressed but unhurt by last night’s incident.

Police were alerted by the girl’s distraught mother when she discovered she was missing from the ground-floor bathroom of their home where she had been having a bath.

The naked girl was found by a local resident in the Willington Quay area of North Tyneside moments later wandering around in a distressed state.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Napier, of Northumbria Police, said today: “This little girl has had a very frightening experience and we are making every possible effort to find the man responsible

“Specially trained officers will be talking to the girl throughout the day to establish exactly what happened.

“At this moment in time we believe she was taken from the bathroom and left in the street after being assaulted.

“Thankfully she was found safe and well and had only been missing a short time.

“We are carrying out extensive inquiries and want to speak to anyone who saw a man acting suspiciously in the area.”

He added that police had cordoned off the area where the girl was discovered and that forensic tests and house to house inquiries were being conducted in the vicinity.

Mr Napier said officers also wanted to speak to anyone who heard a car being driven erratically or heard tyres screeching around the time of the incident.