Man arrested after report of child snatching attempt at Ghadira Bay

A man has been arrested after a mother reported that he had tried to snatch her child from the beach at Ghadira Bay in Mellieha, yesterday.

The police confirmed to this newspaper that they had received a report, and that a man was being held in connection with the investigation into the case.

The child’s mother wrote on Facebook today that, as her five-year-old boy left her side for a few seconds to rinse off his spade in the water at the bay yesterday, she saw a man grab the child and cover his mouth to prevent him from screaming out. She said the man - whom she described as having been “a foreigner, of colour” - started trying to touch the boy while attempting to take him into a tent which he had on the beach.

She added that had it not been for the boy having bitten the man’s hand, the alleged child snatcher would have managed to take him into his tent.

“Wherever you are, don’t let your children out of your sight, not even for a moment,” the woman cautioned.

Police investigations are ongoing.