Schools have been put on kidnapper alert after a girl of ten was almost snatched from a suburban street.

The girl was walking home along an alley in the Langley Green area of Crawley when a man jumped from behind a hedge and grabbed her.

She managed to fight her way free and raced home, where her terrified parents made a 999 call.

Witnesses said the heavily-built attacker, who wore a red T-shirt and had short silvering hair, ran to a waiting car and sped off towards Langley Drive.

The police helicopter was launched in an attempt to track him down.

The girl was this morning being cared for by specially-trained officers at the force's child protection unit.

They said the youngster was unhurt but had been traumatised by the attempted abduction, which happened in an alleyway running between two houses in Swallow Road at 3.15pm yesterday.

She has given a video interview to police of her ordeal.

Neighbouring schools have been put on alert and a description of the attacker has been circulated.

Neighbours today told how police cars raced to the scene in the minutes after the attempted kidnap.

One said: "There were about five or six cars and the helicopter was hovering around.

"It's terrible to think something like this could happen around here in broad daylight.

"I just hope they catch the man who responsible."

Acting Detective Inspector Nick May said: "Parents should be aware of the incident and make sure they know where their children are at all times."