Terrified boy, 8, flees man in car

A Greytown couple are warning fellow parents to ensure their children are safe after a stranger tried to lure their son in to a car as the boy made his way home from Greytown School. FILE PHOTO

A Greytown schoolboy had been biking home by himself for less than a week when a stranger repeatedly tried to lure him into a car with offers of ice cream.

The boy's parents, Kirk and Shelley Saunders, are warning other parents to be vigilant after their 8-year-old son, Jaxson, was repeatedly asked by a stranger to get into his car as the boy made his way home from Greytown School on Tuesday September 15.

Mr Saunders said the man, who was older, with long messy white hair and a white beard, had approached Jaxson on East St, saying to him "get in the car and I'll buy you an icecream".

The man had been aggressive and persistent and at one point got out of his car, an oldermodel red sedan, Mr Saunders said.

Luckily Jaxson, who had recently gone through stranger danger training at school, ignored him.

"He didn't say a word to him and rode off on his bike." It was the first week Jaxson had been allowed to bike home alone and he was now being picked up and dropped off, Mr
Saunders said.

Jaxson was "shaky and tearing up a bit" as he recounted the story to his parents, who were shocked something like this could happen in Greytown, Mr Saunders said.

"It was a bit distressing - it took us by surprise. We've recently moved from Auckland
and it's something that we expect to happen up there, not in little old Greytown."

"We are lucky he [Jaxson] did the right thing."

Mr Saunders appealed to parents in the community to warn their children about strangers.

"You don't like to think that that sort of thing goes on in your community, but parents in particular have got to be vigilant. It sort of hits home that these guys are out there, and you can't instill in kids enough that these things happen."

Parents needed to "make sure our kids know what to do in these sorts of scenarios, and don't think it always happens to someone else," he said.

Greytown School principal Kevin Mackay said the school was following police advice and had not yet held a special assembly about the incident, but had talked to pupils who had questions about what happened.

Pupils were well versed on what to do when approached by strangers, Mr Mackay said.

"All of our children have been through the Keeping Ourselves Safe programmes, so they know exactly what to do."

Detective Senior Sergeant Barry Bysouth said police were doing their utmost to find the man.

"It's about the safety of our kids in the streets - and they should be able to walk home from school at any time without fear of being approached by strangers."

While it was the police's responsibility to keep people safe, it was up to parents to remind children not talk to strangers. He asked anyone with information to contact police.

"Our aim is to keep our community safe and that's why we need public help when situations like this arise."

Wairarapa police can be contacted on 06 370 0300, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.