DETECTIVES are appealing for information following the attempted abduction of a schoolgirl.

The 10-year-old was walking along Great Plumtree in Harlow at 3.30pm on Fridaywhen she was approached by the male passenger of a small blue saloon who grabbed her by the hood.

The man’s friend, the car driver, then shouted at him which forced the man to let go of the girl. She ran off to her nearby home and alerted her mother. The car followed the girl a short way, but then drove off.

Investigating officer Ds Steve Jones, said: “This incident left the girl very frightened and upset. S

“he has been brave and spoken to us, providing a good description of the man who accosted her. We would urge people who saw the incident or a car matching the description we have given to contact us.

“Furthermore, given the distinctive description of the man, we are confident somebody can give us a name so, again, we urge them to contact us so that we can establish what happened on Friday afternoon.”

The man who grabbed the girl was white, in his late 20s or early 30s, of average build with muscular arms, spoke with a foreign UK accent, had a scar on his top lip and has Roman numeral tattoos on his left forearm.

At the time of the incident he was wearing a blue T-shirt, black jogging bottoms and black trainers. The car is described as a small four-door saloon with blacked-out front and rear side windows.

Anyone with information in connection with this attempted abduction is urged to contact detectives at Harlow police station on 101.