Police are keen to trace the man who was seen in his car talking to a three-year-old boy after offering him a sweet.

The incident happened at around 4pm on Wednesday, February 19, in a residential area of North Shields town centre.

The young boy had been playing in the back garden of his home while his mother was in the kitchen, but when she went to check on him she found the gate had been unlocked and he was out the garden and on the pavement across the road next to a car.

As the mother called for her son, the car drove off in the direction of Howdon Road.

A police spokesman said: "The boy ran back to his mother and told her that the man had given him a sweet.

"There was nothing to suggest any attempt to harm the boy, but police are anxious to trace this man to establish what he was doing in the area."

The man is described as in his late 30s to early 40s, fat with a fat face, broad nose, messy, medium length, black hair and a black mark on his right cheek which had the appearance of a mole.

The car is described as silver in colour and of a similar size to a Ford Focus, although not necessarily that model.

House-to-house investigations were carried out in the area and CCTV footage is being studied.

North Shields Chief Inspector Vince Stubbs said: "At this stage we are treating this as a suspicious incident.

"There may be a perfectly innocent explanation for this man's behaviour, but we need to trace him to find out what he was doing there.

"The little boy was unhurt and doesn't even appear to have been distressed by what happened, but we do need to trace this car driver.

"I must stress that this appears to have been an isolated incident.

"I would like to assure people in North Tyneside that Northumbria Police are committed to keeping their streets safe for themselves and their children.

"However, people will naturally be concerned when anything of this nature happens so we're putting some extra patrols in the area to offer additional reassurance."

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Northumbria Police on 08456 043043 and ask for North Shields CID.