A woman snatched a three-year-old boy as he played on a slide in an Oxford park and ran off with him in her arms.

She released the child after the mother gave chase.

Today, police said they were treating the incident as attempted abduction and urged parents to be vigilant.

The boy was playing in Cutteslowe Park at 5pm on Saturday when the woman picked him up and ran towards the gates.

The mother ran after the woman, shouting until she let the boy go.

Passers-by joined the chase, but the woman ran off along Harbord Road before anyone could stop her.

The mother, who lives with her son, six-week-old daughter and their father in Cutteslowe, had taken both children to the playground as a treat.

She was sitting holding the baby when she saw the woman approach her son.

The mother, who has asked not to be named, was today too distressed to comment.

But her 20-year-old partner said: "At first, she thought the woman was helping our son stand up after coming down the slide.

"But then she grabbed him right in front of her eyes.

"The woman went to the gates with him in her arms.

"My partner ran after her, screamed at her, and managed to grab him back before she got any further.

"I couldn't believe it when she came home and told me.

"This is a big play area where loads of children play. There are two football pitches nearby and there is an open field. It's scary to think something like this can happen.

"We called the police and hope they can find out what happened. We don't want anyone else to have to go through this."

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: "We are treating this as an attempted abduction and would urge anyone who saw what happened to come forward to help our investigation."