Schools have been put on alert over a suspected child-snatcher.

Thames Valley Police said all schools in west Oxford had been warned to look out for a man acting suspiciously.

Earlier this month, a man made a grab for a 12-year-old Matthew Arnold School pupil as she walked home in Westminster Way underpass, Botley. She ran off shocked but unharmed.

Now police believe a man seen acting suspiciously outside North Hinksey primary school was the same man. Parents have been warned by letter. Police issued a description of the man, who is white and in his 30s, wearing dark clothing and a woollen hat. Insp Graham Sutherland said the latest incident seemed to be connected.

"We think it is the same man. All the schools in the area have now been put on alert."

Botley primary school head Patricia Pritchard wrote to parents: "We are on alert at the school but advise that children do not go home alone." Parent Tom Mitchell has two children at the school - Tom, five, and Olivia, four. He said: "North Hinksey school is only about half a mile away so this is of great concern.

"It has got to be every parent's nightmare to have something happen to their children while they are at school."

And Sarah Higton, who has a ten-year-old son at the school, said: "I am worried. My son would normally walk home but I would not let him now. It is making everyone uneasy."

Story date: Monday 17 May

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