A man is in custody for an alleged attempted child abduction said to have occurred in Brick Lane.

Parents were warned after a young boy was allegedly approached on the way home from school on June 25.

Police stepped up patrols around school pick-up and drop-off times to reassure the community around the Spitalfields and Bethnal Green neighbourhoods close to Brick Lane.

The boy was reportedly with two other family members, who went to a family friend’s home nearby and alerted the police. He was said to be unharmed.

Detectives sifted through CCTV footage from cameras in that part of Spitalfields and Bethnal Green as part of an investigation and appealed for help from the public.

On Thursday, July 1, a man handed himself into police custody and was arrested suspicion of attempted kidnap.

“We have increased a high visibility presence in the area at key times,” a Scotland Yard spokesman told the Advertiser after the police operation got underway. “This includes school drop-off and pick-up times to reassure the community and ensure that any further potential crime is disrupted.”

Anyone with information about the alleged incident was asked to call 101 or tweet MetCC, with the reference 6617/25JUN, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. But in emergency or life-threatening incident, dial 999.

The Met Police have specially trained officers in a new programme to help young children across in London protect themselves from danger.