A man is being hunted by police after the attempted abduction of a 12-year-old schoolboy.
Zakaria Elharak, 27, is wanted by police after a man attempted to snatch the child, on Friday September 6.
At around 8.30am, Lancashire Police were called to the report a 12-year-old boy was walking through Corporation Park, in Blackburn, when he was approached from behind by a man.
They said the man grabbed the boy around the neck and attempted to drag him away.
Thankfully the boy managed to get free and he ran away and alerted a member of the public.
The man was challenged by the member of the public and then ran off out of the park in the direction of Preston New Road.
Elharak, who also goes by the name Zackaria El-Haouari, has links to Blackburn and Toxteth.
He is described as being 5ft 4in – 5ft 6in tall, of medium build. He has a circular scar on the right side of his face and black hair.
Lancashire Police said: "Following extensive enquiries, we want to speak to Zakaria Elharak, 27, in connection with our investigation."
Detective Inspector Martin Melvin, said: "This was clearly a distressing incident for the young boy.
"Thankfully incidents of this nature are relatively rare, however we are treating it extremely seriously and have a number of resources dedicated to the investigation.
"We want to speak to Zakaria Elharak as part of our enquiries.
"If you have seen him or know where he may be, please get in touch with us as soon as possible. I would also urge Zakaria, if he sees this, to come and speak to us."
If you have any information that could help, please call police on 101 quoting log number 271 of 6 September. Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers.org.u k
