PARENTS today spoke of their fear for the safety of their children.

Carol Holdsworth, 30, of Belle Vue Road, Old Town, has two children, Katherine, six, and Edward, two.

She said: "It is very worrying and things are moving more towards parents keeping children in to spend all their time at home, which is a real shame.

"Sometimes there does seem to be a lot of hype, which makes parents more concerned than they should be. I don't think it helps to be too paranoid about it, the solution is not to lock children up at home."

Alison Smith, 37, had just collected her two children from the same school attended by the girl who was approached last Sunday.

Mrs Smith, of Belle Vue Road, who has a nine-year-old daughter, Jessica, and five-year-old son Charlie, said: "It concerns me because my daughter was getting to the age when we were thinking about letting here wander around a bit more, but that's been knocked on the head now.

"At this rate it is unlikely they will ever be allowed out on their own it's really made us sit up and think about the situation. It wasn't as if this incident happened late at night it was in the middle of the afternoon in broad daylight."

Mother-of-three Genny Williams, 47, of Drove Road, added: "It's very scary at the moment and I hope that all schools and parents warn children about the dangers of strangers.

"I've told my children not to talk to anyone who approaches them in the street and my eldest daughter always walks around in a group. I'm wondering whether there is a trend developing and whether the events of recent months have given people strange ideas. But whatever, this attempted abduction happened on a Sunday afternoon in broad daylight."