Police hunt for man who tried to lure 10-year-old schoolgirl onto bus with him

Pupil was ‘very frightened’, police say

Police are hunting for man who tried to lure a 10-year-old schoolgirl onto a bus with him on Poynders Road, in Clapham, southwest London, at about on 21 May 2019. (Metropolitan Police)

A man who tried to lure a 10-year-old schoolgirl onto a bus with him is being hunted by police.

The man is said to have approached the child and asked her for directions as she waited at a bus stop in Clapham, southwest London.

As a bus pulled in, the man beckoned the girl to get on with him but she refused, Scotland Yard said.

He responded by acting as if he was her father and telling her she was “being naughty by not getting on the bus” and “obeying him”.

However, the girl’s mother was on the bus and confronted the man.

The man is described as black, 5ft 9ins, of slim build, 33-35 years old and with chiselled features, then became irate and banged his head against the glass shelter before walking away, police said.

He was wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and white trainers and carrying a black and red JD rucksack. He was also wearing large black earphones.

The incident happened at about on 21 May.

Detective Constable Teresa Moore, of London's Metropolitan Police roads and transport policing command, said: “This incident left a young girl feeling very frightened.

"Thankfully, her mother arrived on the scene to confront this man, but this was clearly a fraught situation and we want to speak to this man as soon as possible. If anyone can identify him, I would ask them to contact police immediately.”

The incident happened as the force continued to hunt a man suspected of trying to kidnap a nine-year-old girl on her way home from school in nearby Wandsworth, by luring her with sweets.

Police are hunting for man who tried to lure a 10-year-old schoolgirl onto a bus with him on Poynders Road, in Clapham, southwest London, at about on 21 May 2019. (Metropolitan Police)

Police are hunting for man who tried to lure a 10-year-old schoolgirl onto a bus with him on Poynders Road, in Clapham, southwest London, at about on 21 May 2019. (Metropolitan Police)

Investigators said during that incident on 2 November, a man was sitting at the bus stop where the girl got off in Putney, and tried to strike up a conversation with her.

He attempted to lure her to his house with the promise of sweets but, when she refused his offer and ran away, he chased after her and tried to grab her hair as she neared her home.

However, she managed to get safely inside.

Police eventually released a public appeal for information with an image of the suspect, described as a tall, black man, wearing dark clothes, seven months after the incident.

Last month, officers also released a CCTV image of a man after a 16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on the top deck of a bus travelling between Wandsworth Park and Wandsworth at about 3.25pm on 2 January.

The suspect is described as a black man, aged between 35 and 43 years old, about 5ft 10ins tall with a bald head and a large gap between his front teeth.

He spoke with an American accent and wore a sleeveless red puffa vest and hat.