Residents in shock after attempt to take two children

Residents of a Mullingar housing estate were left in shock this week after an attempt was made by a woman to take two children just yards from their own home.

The girls - aged 7 and 10 - were left distraught after the incident, which happened on Monday at Belvedere Hills, considered a quiet, safe location, where children play freely on the local green.

The drama began around 2.40 on Monday, when the younger girl, who finishes school earlier in the day, went out to meet her sister off the school bus.

It is understood she walked around 40 metres from her house to stand at a wall and wait for her sister to come from the bus, and as she stood there, she was approached by a woman who commented to the child that she “looked upset” and that she would bring her to her home.

The child told the woman she was fine – but at that point, the woman took her hand, despite the child’s protestations that she was fine.

At this point, the older sister arrived from the school bus alongside two other children and the younger child ran to them and started crying.

However, the woman persisted, and remarking that the two sisters were upset, incredibly, she rubbed the younger girl’s head, asked where they lived and told the girls she would take them both home “in her car”. The elder child insisted they were fine and the two made their way safely to their own house.

It is understood that the woman, who had a grey car, was middle-aged, with dark hair, and was not a native English speaker.

The gardaí in Mullingar have confirmed that they are investigating an incident that occurred in Belvedere Hills on Monday, and have asked if anyone noticed anything out of the ordinary, that they contact them.