TWO mothers appealed today for people to help York police catch a dangerous man before he tries to abduct another girl.

The mother of a 12-year-old girl who escaped after being grabbed by the man near Acomb Green earlier this month warned: “He may try this again, and the next child might not be so lucky.”

And the mother of Natalie Hicks, who was waiting at an Acomb bus stop four years ago when a man, Terry Delaney, tried to abduct her, claimed: “This sort of person is a dangerous predator who needs to be caught. If anyone can help catch him, they must contact police.”

The 12-year-old’s mother revealed that her daughter had been traumatised since the Acomb Green incident, which happened as she was walking to school on Monday November 16.

“She won’t go to school on her own now,” she said. “I have to go with her. The first night after it happened she had a bad nightmare and she is still really, really upset and shaken about it.

“She won’t sleep in her bedroom on her own and is always checking that the front door has been locked.

“She was going to school on her own and was at the top of Acomb Green when the man came up and tried to grab her hand and said: ‘I know a quicker way to school.’ “She said ‘no,’ and he then came up behind her and grabbed her around the waist. She kicked him and he went to the ground and she ran off.

“She went to her sister’s house and was banging and banging on the door.

“She was heartbroken. I feel sick about it.”

She said her daughter was certain that the man had a Liverpool accent.

Natalie’s mother, June Briggs, of Strensall, said the latest incident was remarkably similar to her daughter’s attempted abduction in Acomb in 2005.

She said she hoped that if the Acomb Green man was caught and convicted, a judge would use a change in the law achieved by The Press’ Change It! campaign to place him on the Sex Offenders Register as well as jailing him.

The campaign was sparked after a York Crown Court judge who jailed Delaney said he was unable to place him on the register because of a loophole in the law.

Natalie, now 17, bravely waived her right to anonymity to back The Press’ campaign, amid concerns that the authorities’ ability to monitor people like Delaney would be limited when he was released from prison.

Det Sgt Lee Boyeson, of York CID, reiterated the two mothers’ appeal for help, saying he would welcome any information, including suggestions as to the possible name of the man, who had been wearing a green jacket with the hood up and a scarf covering the lower half of his face, had a Liverpool accent and was last seen walking along Viking Road. “People can speak to the police in confidence,” he said.

He said police had increased visible patrols in the area to reassure the public.

• Anyone with any information which could help police should phone 0845 60 60 247.