Boy, three, saved by older brother after attempted abduction in Aldi supermarket
A man has been jailed for trying to abduct a three-year-old boy from an Aldi supermarket.
Sergejus Paskevicius, 61, snatched the child as his mother was paying for shopping at a store in Rochdale in Greater Manchester, on 23 July last year.
She took her younger son, aged three, and his older brother, believed to be seven, to the shop’s front window and asked them to wait there, turning every few seconds to check on them.
Paskevicius, who was in front of the mother in the till queue, stood at a large shelf by the window after paying to pack his bag.
Then in what police have described as “every parent’s worst nightmare”, he started talking to the boys before putting his bag on his shoulder, grabbing the youngest and holding him up to his chest.
The older sibling bravely managed to pull his younger brother free before carrying him back to their mother during the “terrifying ordeal”.
Paskevicius walked out of the store “pretending to act like nothing had happened”, Greater Manchester Police said.
He was identified following an appeal on social media and later arrested and charged after CCTV showed the incident in full.
A search of his home in Orchard Street, Heywood, found clothing matching his attire at the time of the attempted abduction.
Paskevicius was jailed for three years and two months at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday for the offence of taking a child, removing them from a person of lawful control.
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Aldi in Bradshaw Street in Heywood, Rochdale
Detective Sergeant Andrew Whitehall, of Greater Manchester Police’s Rochdale district, said: “Paskevicius was a danger to society for his shocking actions but thankfully his intentions didn’t result in anything more serious than a sinister move to abduct a child from their parent.
“It is arguably every parent’s worst nightmare and thanks to the quick actions of everyone involved, including the local public, we were able to arrest the person responsible.
“He will spend further time behind bars now to reflect on his actions and as officers we will always treat this type of incident with the attention and seriousness it deserves.”
A man’s body has been recovered from an area of flooding in North Yorkshire, police have said, as major incidents have been declared in two counties.
The body was found near Intake Lane in Beal, close to Eggborough and Knottingley.
Police believe the man may have entered the water in the last 24 to 48 hours.
Follow the latest on the weather
North Yorkshire Police said: “Despite extensive enquiries, including with our colleagues in Humberside and West Yorkshire Police, we have been unable to identify him.
“He was found without any identification or personal belongings.”
The man was also described as white, in his early 50s to 60s, with light brown short hair and stubble.
He was wearing brown walking boots, blue denim jeans, a multicoloured knitted jumper and possibly a dark green waterproof coat, police added.
It comes after Leicestershire and Lincolnshire both declared a major incident in response to the extreme weather hitting the UK and Ireland.
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Leicestershire Fire and Rescue was the first emergency service in England to declare an incident and said it had received more than 200 calls since Monday morning over widespread flooding.
Crews had found cars stuck in floodwater and evacuated residents from flooded homes and rising waters, with some 17 people rescued as of 1.45pm.
The Lincolnshire Resilience Forum declared a major incident shortly after, and noted that emergency services had rescued children who were stranded at a school in Edenham.
Meanwhile, the Met Office has three yellow weather warnings – each for snow and ice – in effect throughout Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
Pic: Met Office
A warning covering the west and north coast of Scotland – reaching into Inverness and Aberdeen – will last until midday, while an alert in effect for all of Northern Ireland will last until 11am.
The Met Office has also issued a warning covering Wales and parts of northwest England on Monday evening, moving into southwest England, the Midlands and parts of southern England in the early hours of Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a yellow weather warning for snow is in effect across the south of England – stretching from just above Truro in Cornwall to Canterbury in Kent – from 9am to midnight.
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