MILITARY chiefs are urging parents to be on their guard following a spate of attempted abductions outside air force bases.

The United States Air Force says its bases in Europe have recently “experienced a series of unsuccessful child abduction attempts”.

One of the incidents happened earlier this month outside the USAF base at RAF Feltwell.

Suffolk police confirmed the incident of May 2 had been reported and an investigation had been launched.

The USAF is urging its personnel and parents in general to be “more vigilant”.

“With the incident that occurred at Feltwell, a van pulled up next to a student walking home and tried to pull the individual into the vehicle,” said Technical Sergeant Michael Price, the 48th Security Forces Squadron’s provost NCO in charge.

“The student fought back,” he said, “pushed them off, took off running and got away from the situation, which is exactly what we told them to do when we briefed the schools.

T/Sgt Price volunteers as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education instructor and goes out to the schools to teach children not only the dangers of drugs and alcohol, but to give tips to help prevent them from being abducted, known as stranger danger training.

“We brief them what to look for when they’re walking home and that it’s okay to fight back if someone tries to grab them,” he said. “They can push, shove and do whatever they have to do to get away from that person trying to abduct them.”

If children are approached by a stranger, he recommends not talking to them, walking away or screaming and making as much noise as they can. He also advised children to always walk with a friend or in a group and to change their routine by not taking the same route every day and occasionally using different modes of travel.