A GUNMAN kidnapped a toddler after dragging her screaming mother from a car, police said yesterday.

The girl was taken on a two-mile ride with North-East police in pursuit, before the gunman dumped the vehicle and fled on foot.

The car jacking was part of a 15-minute police chase, following a bungled armed robbery.

Police last night appealed for members of the criminal fraternity to name the gunman, who is still at large.

Superintendent Allan Curry said: "This man threatened a young mother with a firearm, then left her on her knees by the roadside and took away her child."

The drama began at about 4.45pm on Wednesday, when two men held up a security guard as he left the Costco store in Mandela Way, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.

One, who was armed with a sledgehammer, tried to break open a metal box containing what police described as a substantial amount of cash.

When they failed, the gunman and his accomplice who was wielding a hammer, fled empty-handed in a stolen white Subaru Impreza, driven by a third man.

Police gave chase to a nearby residential estate, where the gang abandoned the Subaru and fled on foot.

The gunman then hijacked a silver Volkswagen Golf dragging the driver from the car and driving off with her daughter in the back, ignoring the mother's pleas for her child.

He abandoned the car two miles away, near the Bisley Hotel, in Shibdon Road, Blaydon. The unharmed child was in the back.

Staff at the hotel said the gunman ran through the building, then dropped the weapon and changed clothes outside the rear of the property, before leaving on foot.

Police have arrested four people in connection with the investigation.

* Anyone with any information is asked to contact the police on 0191-221 9521.