March 20, 2017 1.25 pm This story is over 83 months old

Police say Lincoln Asda “abduction attempt” was mistake

Lincolnshire Police have assured residents that reports of an attempted abduction at the North Hykeham Asda store which have surfaced on social media was an “innocent mistake”. Police flagged the incident as an example of how ‘information on social media can be exaggerated’. A story circulated Facebook last week about an attempted abduction at the…

Lincolnshire Police have assured residents that reports of an attempted abduction at the North Hykeham Asda store which have surfaced on social media was an “innocent mistake”.

Police flagged the incident as an example of how ‘information on social media can be exaggerated’.

A story circulated Facebook last week about an attempted abduction at the Asda in North Hykeham on Wednesday, March 15.

It was said that a young boy was ‘grabbed’ by a teenage girl, who then led him out of the shop before letting go.

The incident was reported to police, which was found to be an innocent mistake involving a teenage girl who mistook a boy in an identical uniform for the boy she was with.

Lincolnshire Police posted on their Facebook page: “We would like to reassure you that this did not happen.

“There was an incident reported to us on Wednesday but that was found to be an innocent mistake involving a teenage girl who mistook a boy in an identical uniform for the boy she was with.

“This is a good example of where information on social media can be exaggerated, taken out of context or completely fabricated.

“Please always check the Lincolnshire Police website, our Facebook page or our Twitter account if you have any suspicions about the authenticity of something you have seen.”