Police dispel child abduction rumours

POLICE in Shetland have moved to reassure parents following mistaken rumours that an individual had been trying to coax Lerwick schoolchildren into a van.

Chief inspector Angus MacInnes decided to intervene publicly after stories began circulating on social media sites on Friday and Saturday.

They appear to have been prompted by an incident on Thursday afternoon whereby a mother drove past two schoolboys and mistook them for her own kids. She initially wound down her car window and offered them a lift before realising her mistake and driving off.

He said police officers had tracked down the woman in question, and believed her explanation was entirely legitimate.

“”It turned out to be a mother who mistook the boys for her own children in low light,” MacInnes explained.

He said that, while there were criminal happenings that islanders should be worried about, child abduction was not currently one of them.

MacInnes added it was not the first time that social media speculation had caused the police problems, referring to a recent incident in Brae.