This morning both the Irish Independent and The Herald have reported an incident that a young boy (9) was allegedly approached by a man in a car and offered sweets to get into his vehicle. The incident happened in Swords and was reported to Gardai who have yet to establish if it was a genuine abduction attempt or if there is an innocent explanation.

The incident happened last Sunday at 7.30pm in the Applewood area of Swords. The boy claimed to be first approached by man in car who was offering sweets, but the boy refused and walked away in the direction of adults.

It is alleged that the driver approached the boy a second time at which time a female neighbour raised the alarm and called the Gardai. The woman gave details of the registration plate to the Gardai who said they are investigating and that no arrests have been made.

The Swords area has had previous reports of attempted abductions and inappropriate behavior with children in recent years but there have been no arrests.

In April 2011, four reports took place in one week whereby children had inappropriate approaches by men. In one incident, a man blocked a footpath with his car and tried to grab young girls in the Swords Manor area.

Three similar incidents were reported in the River Valley area around that time.

Officers investigating the incidents made no arrests, and reports of alleged abduction attempts eased off.

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