IN May 1995, a five-year-old girl is snatched from shops in Blakelaw, Newcastle. She is sexually abused, driven 40 miles and dumped in Woodland Road, in Darlington, three-and-a-half hours later.

Four months later and three miles away from the scene of the first abduction, a four-year-old is snatched from Newcastle's New Mills Estate.

She is found on the doorstep of a house in Bulmers Square, Darlington, 17 hours later.

Police said both abductions were sexually motivated.

In the months that followed, detectives staged reconstructions, the case featured on Crimewatch UK, and police followed up hundreds of calls, but the kidnapper was never found.

As fear of more abductions gripped the region, a reward of £27,000 was offered for information that would lead to the arrest of the offender.

Investigators were convinced the same man carried out the crimes. Police stopped scores of drivers and carried out house-to-house inquiries.

At the time, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Symonds, of Northumbria Police, was convinced the man would strike again.

Detective Superintendent Dave Wilson, who led a team of 45 officers in Newcastle and Darlington, back in 1995, warned: "I cannot rule out the possibility that this man could kill next time. If a man is dangerous enough to abduct a young child, you can never rule out anything he might do. Who is to say what he is capable of?"

Thankfully, those fears never came true. The kidnapper simply disappeared and as the months became years, the Tyneside abduction memories began to fade. Although the case is still officially open, many locals have simply forgotten about what happened.

Until now.

The abduction of a six-year-old from her bath in Willington Quay, North Tyneside, last month has prompted people to ask if the kidnapper has returned.

The parallels between the earlier cases and the Willington Quay abduction are certainly striking.

In all, three young children were seized, abused and driven around before they were dumped -frightened and confused -on the streets.

Northumbria Police confirmed yesterday that detectives involved in the 1995 investigation had been in touch with the team investigating the North Tyneside abduction.

And while they stressed there was no evidence of a direct link, at least one psychologist who advises the police on child abduction cases believes the Willington Quay abductor has taken a child before.

Mike Berry, who lectures in Manchester and Dublin universities, said: "This is somebody who is very confident - to go and take a child from a bath. This makes me think he has done it before. In this case, it has to be a local man and somebody who is good with kids. How did he manage to take her from the bath without her screaming her head off?

"It is very rare that somebody would wait ten years, unless they have a very good reason."

If it is the same man, did he find fulfilment in a normal relationship or was he arrested for another crime and taken off the streets?

"If it is the same person, then something very powerful has stopped him," said Mr Berry. "That could have been a woman, or prison, something of that nature."

In 1995, criminal psychologist Graeme Richardson told The Northern Echo: "This latest case is unusual. We have never come across one like it before. It is very unusual because most child molesters molest children they know, very few go out looking for them.

"This is predatory. It is very, very similar to the other case. You could get a copycat, but it seems more like a re-offence."

The two cases in 1995 sparked fear in the region and a wave of reports of attempted abductions.

One of the victims' mothers said: "What makes a person take a child from her home and away from her family?"

The girl's grandmother said: "The man who has done this must be a beast. There is obviously something wrong with him and it is terrifying to think he is still free to strike again at will."