POLICE say they do not now believe a woman and child were forced into a car on Redcar seafront, in an incident that sparked a major manhunt.

Officers launched a search for two suspects after the woman said she had been raped on Friday, March 3.

However, on Thursday, after several days of enquiries, Cleveland Police said the incident was "not as first reported".

On Friday, the force went further, saying detectives were no longer investigating the claim of kidnap. They stressed, however, that an allegation of rape was being looked into and the search was continuing for two suspects.

A force spokeswoman said: “Police now do not believe that a woman and child were forced into a car on the seafront.

“The same allegation of rape is still being investigated. No arrests have been made at this time and suspects are still outstanding.”

It had been reported that the woman, who is in her 30s, and her child had been driven away from a slipway to the beach between Redcar’s boating lake and the Regent Cinema at around 11.30am.

An attack was said to have taken place in the isolated Longbeck Lane, near the village of Yearby, where police said the woman was raped by both men.

A 31-year-old man from Redcar was arrested on suspicion of rape but released without charge on Tuesday afternoon.

  • Anyone with information is asked to contact Cleveland Police on 101.