Police called after young boy 'grabbed' on Clacton beach

Chloe Sharp, 24, and her partner Kieron Scrase, 27, had been on a family day out to Clacton with their 21-month-old son Jenson.

But while the family was enjoying the day playing on the beach on Saturday they say they experienced “every parents’ nightmare”. 

Miss Sharp, from Rivenhall, claims a woman approached her son while he was playing at her feet and grabbed him. 

She said: “I was sitting on the beach wall with my son playing in the sand - he was sat at my feet - while my partner went to get his kite.

"This woman in her 50s came over knelt down and grabbed my son from the sand while saying to him in a childish voice ‘bye mummy, bye mummy’.

Beach - Chloe Sharp's son loves spending time at the beach (Image: Chloe Sharp)

“I was repeatedly saying ‘No, no, no, don’t touch my son’ and I grabbed him back from her. 

“She had such a firm grip it was awful. Even if she had a friendly intention, you don’t go around touching and approaching other people's children.  

“My son is 21 months so luckily oblivious to what’s happened. She then walked away catching up with a man who looked of similar age."

The couple contacted Essex Police, and officers attended the beach shortly after to support them. 

The officers searched for the woman Miss Sharp and her partner had described, but without success. 

Clacton - Clacton Beach on a busy summer day

Miss Sharp said: “The beach is my son's favourite place and our family live in Clacton, you just never expect to have to worry about something like this.” 

The incident has left the young family shaken, and Miss Sharp said she “lost her faith in humanity” and she “never felt so scared and sick in her life”. 

She added: “It’s something I’d never want any other parent to ever go through, right in front of me and thank God I was alert because it could have been a whole other situation.” 

An Essex Police spokesman said: “Officers were called to The Boardwalk in Clacton at around 3:30pm on Sunday, 14 July following reports of a woman accosting a child by picking them up without permission. The child was uninjured. No arrests have been made and officers are reviewing CCTV.’