Masked woman 'tried to snatch 4-year-old girl from H&M while the girl's mother shopped'

A masked woman tried to snatch a four-year-old girl from a branch of H&M as her mother shopped just metres away, a court was told.

Anna Kaminska allegedly approached the girl and told her "just come with me" at the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre, in Edinburgh.

The 26-year-old is standing trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court charged with one count of attempted abduction of a child.

Kaminska allegedly tried to entice the child to the back door of the store, the court was told.

Kaminska, a Polish national, allegedly had her face covered with a scarf and large sunglasses before the child's mother challenged her.

A jury was shown CCTV footage of the incident which took place on 28 March last year as witnesses, including the child's mother, gave evidence.

The girl's 42-year-old mother told the jury according to The Sun: "We were in H&M and my daughter was on the other side of a stand playing with the jewellery.

"The next minute I could hear someone saying to her 'just come with me, just come with me'.

"I could hear her scooter and heard her starting to go off (with the woman). They were going towards the back door. I could see they were not holding hands but I said 'what's going on?"

Kaminska, a prisoner at HMP Edinburgh, denies the allegation.

The mother-of-two, who cannot be identified due to legal reasons, told the court that the woman "had an accent" and said "I didn't know you were not allowed to do this".

The department manager of H&M, Cheryl Booker, confirmed she was approached by a customer who told her about the abduction attempt, before she then contacted security.

Kaminska was cleared of two shoplifting charges at a hearing due to lack of evidence. The trial continues.