Police have issued a warning to parents and carers in Hull after a man and a woman posed as health officials in an attempt to abduct or sexually abuse a three-year-old girl.

The man in his late 20s and woman in her mid 40s conned their way into the child's home by flashing fake identification badges at her mother.

They claimed they were there to inspect the toddler but the parent became suspicious when they tried to get her to leave the child alone with them in a room.

Officers fear the pair may strike again.

Detective Inspector Dena Fleming of Queen's Gardens Police Station in Hull said: "They asked to examine the young girl living at the address but due to the nature of the questions being asked the householder asked them to leave.

"Subsequent inquiries confirmed that they were not genuine health workers."

Sergeant John Blanchard of Humberside Police added: "We don't know what their intent was, whether it was to abduct the child or to sexually assault her."

The couple had tried to get the child undressed, raising fears that their motives were sexually driven.

The woman is white, in her mid forties, 5ft 5in tall, with mousey brown, shoulder-length hair with tints of ginger. She was wearing a blue jacket, scarf and white blouse. The man is white, aged 27 to 29, 6ft tall with dark brown or black spiky hair and wearing a navy shirt and black trousers.

Used courtesy of the Hull Daily Mail