A THIEF held a knife to a baby's throat in a sickening robbery.

A grandmother, a woman in her 40s, was taking her 19-month old grandson for a walk along the footpath in the wooded area off Ormesby Road, Normanby, Middlesbrough between 5 and 6pm yesterday, Friday, when a man jumped out of the bushes in front of her.

He demanded her purse and when she refused he produced a knife and held it to her grandson's throat.

The grandmother handed over her purse and the man ran off in the direction of Normanby High Street.

The child was not injured during the incident.

The victim has described the suspect to police as an ‘Asian male’ with ‘very bad teeth’ and a ‘foreign accent’.

He is further described as aged in his 20s (20-25), around 6ft tall, with a medium build and short black hair. He was wearing a black tracksuit with one red stripe down the side and a black leather belt with a pouch around his waist. He was wearing black and gold ‘Nike’ brand trainers.

DC Lewis Mackfall, of Cleveland Police, said: “This was clearly a terrifying incident for the victim and very distressing as it involved a threat of violence against her grandchild.

“We’re appealing for anyone who might have seen a man matching this description to speak to us urgently."

  • Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference number 086712.