Fury as boy, 10,‘chased down’ by man in car
TERRIFIED CHILD NOW WON’T LEAVE HOME
A FURIOUS mum is claiming a motorist chased her 10-year-old son down with his car.
Charlotte Reffold hit out after being asked by police if she would accept a written apology from the man rather than see the case go to court.
Her son, Riley, claimed he was twice chased by the man and only escaped after jumping over a garden wall in Morfa Bychan, Gwynedd. Since last Thursday’s incident he has yet to leave the family house and is still feeling “scared”.
North Wales Police confirmed an “incident” occurred in Morfa Bychan and it is currently “under investigation”.
A spokesperson could not give “any further comment at this stage”.
Mrs Reffold said Riley was with three friends on the edge of the Porthmadog golf course when they were approached by the man.
“They were just playing, jumping over a stream, like boys do,” she said.
“The man said they were on private land and the boys said it wasn’t his land.
He then grabbed one of them by the shoulder and picked up his bike, throwing it over a wall onto the road.”
Questioned by their parents, the boys later admitted they had, at this point, shouted “paedo” at the man.
He is said to have given chase on foot but soon gave up.
After hiding out for a few minutes, the boys retreated to a nearby convenience store.
As they waited outside, the man drew up in his car and they fled again.
Unlike Riley, the other boys had bikes and were able to escape, leaving him on his own.
According to Mrs Reffold, who runs an escape room business in nearby Porthmadog, the motorist “targeted” her son and drove after him.
Hoping the driver wouldn’t follow him, Riley ran into a private, graveled driveway – but he claimed he was closely pursued by the motorist.
As he reached the property he dived over a low wall to “avoid being hit”, hiding until the man reversed out his car.
When the coast was clear, Riley ran home and told his dad, Marvin, what had happened. The factory manager wasn’t sure how much he could believe.
On arriving home from work, Mrs Reffold took her son out in her car to retrace his steps and verify his story.
“Boys are full of tall tales and we wanted to make sure he was telling us the truth,” she said.
“When I arrived home, he was still shaking and couldn’t get his words out properly. So we went out in the car. I found swerve marks in the gravel and there were skid marks by the wall as if a car had braked suddenly. Riley described the car and we were able to locate it on a driveway.”
Mrs Reffold dialled 999 and gave the police the vehicle’s registration number. The incident was passed to Porthmadog police, who spoke to the motorist before calling the family on Monday.
“They suggested a community resolution order as a way of avoiding court,” she said.
“But we felt the incident warranted more than a written apology.”
Since the incident, Riley has not left home other than to go to school. All the boys have been questioned by their parents to check their stories.
According to Mrs Reffold, her son is still very “emotional” about what happened. “Riley’s still shaking and he’s scared to go out with his friends,” she said.
“In my opinion, the police response wasn’t good enough.
“They’re supposed to protect children but he’s afraid to leave the house because he doesn’t think the police will help him if he needs them.”