Snatched girl’s mother tells of Bulger fears

A MOTHER whose three-year-old daughter was abducted during a family shopping trip in Yorkshire has revealed how she feared the girl would suffer the same fate as murdered toddler James Bulger.

The girl was taken from a mobile phone store in Hull city centre while her parents briefly looked away to talk to a store assistant.

Less than a minute later, the family saw her being led down the street, hand in hand, by Claire Thomas, who claimed to have taken the child in a desperate attempt to get a council house.

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The parents gave chase and managed to grab their daughter. Thomas, 21, broke free in the struggle but was eventually caught by police after being spotted on CCTV.

The girl’s mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the abduction had been an “absolute nightmare” for the family.

She added that the experience had reminded her of James Bulger, the two-year-old tortured and murdered by two 10-year-old boys after being abducted from a Merseyside shopping centre in 1993.

“When I saw Thomas walking up the street with my little girl,” she said. “I just saw the image of James Bulger and I thought the worst.

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“You see kids playing outside and away from their parents but this woman took her away by the hand when she was just four feet from me.

“When Thomas took hold of her hand, she just froze with fear.”

The incident happened on October 24 last year when the family, from Hessle, were in a T-Mobile store in King Edward Street.

Only 15 seconds after they entered the shop, Thomas sat beside the girl on the sofa, took her hand and led her away.

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CCTV footage recovered later showed that Thomas had targeted the family. She and two men were seen following them through the city centre and they stopped to watch when the girl scared some pigeons outside the shop.

“There are not words to describe Thomas,” the girl’s mother said. “She is pure evil.

“She claimed she was drunk but I wouldn’t walk off with someone else’s dog whilst drunk let alone a child. Her actions have impacted hugely on our family and have caused us great heartache.

“It just shows how easy it is for something like this to happen. Luckily, when I ran out of the shop, I ran the right way after her.

“If it had been busier, I may not have caught her.”

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The mother added that her daughter still had nightmares about the incident and would be “left with this memory forever”.

“This is every parent’s worst nightmare,” she said. “The worst thing was how quickly it happened.

“One second she was there and the next she was gone.”

The girl’s family advised other parents to be watchful and praised police for finding Thomas within 15 minutes of them reporting the incident.

“We are really vigilant now and reluctant to let our daughter go with anyone,” the mother said.

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Thomas, of St Peter Street, east Hull, pleaded guilty at Hull Crown Court to child abduction.

She was given an interim hospital order for psychiatric tests to be carried out and will return to the court later this year for sentencing.

“I do not think it’s safe for parents to have her wandering the streets,” the girl’s mother said. “I hope they lock her up for a long time.”

Det Con Brian Christie, of Humberside Police’s Public Protection Unit, said: “It is a very rare occurrence but the child appeared to have been targeted.

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“It only took 15 seconds for her to be taken and shows how quickly it can happen.

“Thomas told the police she was not put up to it but thought it would help her get a house as she was homeless.

“It was a busy shopping day and all happened so quickly.”