Hunt for man who ‘snatched’ child at bus stop & ran along pavement before abusing woman – as cops release CCTV

A MAN smelling of alcohol snatched a young child before running away in Cheltenham.

The stranger approached a woman and her two young children while they waited at a bus stop on Tewkesbury Road, close to Gallagher Retail Park, cops say.

The man – who smelled strongly of -picked up one of the children and ran along the pavement while carrying him, before bringing him back and putting him down.

The child was unharmed.

When the terrified mum challenged the man, he became verbally abusive towards her.

He then got on a bus which was heading in the direction of Cheltenham.

The incident happened at around 11.35am and the woman was understandably very shaken by the ordeal.

Officers attended and tried to locate the bus and search for the man, but he unfortunately wasn’t found.

Enquiries then took place with the bus company to obtain pictures.

Cops have released images and would like to speak to the man pictured in connection with the incident.

There were also a number of people at the bus stop at the time and are urging anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward.

The man was described as being white, in his late 30s or early 40s, with short brown .

He was wearing beige shorts, a t-shirt and brown work boots.