Court shown haunting scenes of toddler being lured away by schoolgirl kidnappers

A court has been shown chilling footage of the moment a toddler was lured away from her mother by two teen kidnappers who struck at a city Primark store.
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The haunting CCTV images played at Newcastle Crown Court show the tot being coaxed away by two teen girls, aged 13 and 14, who had already tried to

snatch another young child.

As the little girl was taken away from Newcastle city centre on a Metro train, while being calmed with Coca Cola and sweets, her frantic mother was desperately searching for her young daughter.

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One witness described the mum, who was walking around the store pushing her empty buggy, "banging her head on the wall, she was so utterly distressed."

The teens, who have both pleaded guilty to kidnap as well as stealing dummies a baby bottle and milk, were arrested after they took the toddler to Gosforth park, miles away from her desperate mother.

Both girls are due to be sentenced by Mr Justice Globe at Newcastle Crown Court.

Prosecutor Sarah Barlow told the court the girls were playing truant from school on April 13 and had spent most of the day in the Northumberland Street Primark store.

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Miss Barlow said the girls were "working together and quite co-ordinated" in their mission to take a child that day.

The court heard the mother of the first toddler they targeted had thanked the girls, believing they had found her daughter after she got lost in the store.

Within hours the girls successfully led away their victim from the children's clothing section on the second floor of the store.

It was shortly after four pm they approached the girls and offered her sweets.

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Miss Barlow said: "That is indicative of the level of planning the girls clearly had taken with them, or had with them, things likely to attract a child to them, to keep a child with them.

"They offered sweets and were playing with her.

"The child was running about, running to and from the girls and their mother.

"The mother was not suspicious, she simply thought the girls were playing with her daughter and were in fact being quite sweet.

"This went on for about 15 minutes. There came a point when she realised she couldn't see her daughter and obviously this is shown on CCTV."

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The court was shown camera footage of the girls taking the toddler downstairs in the store lift and out onto Northumberland Street.

Often one of the them was holding her hand.

The court heard one witness in the shop had been suspicious about the two girls being in the company of such a young child but they assured her everything was alright.

Other witnesses remember seeing the girls with the toddler on the Metro and their journey was also captured on cctv.

Miss Barlow added: "They were seen to give her sweets and offer her Coca Cola, they were overheard saying 'don't worry, we will get you to your mummy', coercing her to stay with them with sweets and Cola and the promise she was going to be returned to her mother, which she was not, she was travelling in the opposite direction."

The court also heard the girls took the toddler to a Sainsbury's store at Gosforth where they stole baby milk and a bottle.