Police seek motorist who terrified mum

From the archive, first published Wednesday 6th Dec 2006.

A MOTHER was left terrified after a man tried to get into her Mini Cooper as she drove her two young children home.

The woman was following a silver Vauxhall Corsa along Greenacres in Skipton when it stopped suddenly and a rear passenger got out and ran towards her. He had a scarf covering the bottom half of his face.

Police say the man tried her car door, but it was locked and he was forced to return to his vehicle. It then drove off at speed into the Regents estate.

"It was obviously very scary for the woman - especially as she had her two young children in the car," said a police spokeswoman.

She added: "At this stage, the motive is unknown, but it does appear suspicious as the man had part of his face covered."

The woman, whose children are aged seven and 10, believes she saw the same man walking along the pavement a few minutes earlier.

Police are now appealing for witnesses to the incident, which occurred near the Knaresborough Road junction at about 5.15pm on Friday. Police have just completed details.

"It is a very very busy time up there and we would like to hear from anyone who saw the man or the car. Also we would be interested to hear whether this has happened to anybody else," said the police spokeswoman.

The suspect is described as white, in his late teens, about 6ft tall, and was wearing a white zip-up hooded top, white track suit bottoms and white trainers.

Meanwhile officers are advising motorists to keep their doors locked and not leave handbags, laptops and mobile phones on view.

Insp Jonathan Pickles said: "The man may have been trying to steal something from the car, or perhaps steal the car itself. Or there might be a quite innocent explanation. We simply don't know.

"However we would ask the public to be vigilant and let us know if they see anything suspicious."

Anyone with information about Friday's incident should contact the police witness line on 01423 539334 or the confidential Crimestoppers line on 0800 555111.