06/01/2006

Toddler kidnap suspect remanded

A 24-year-old man has appeared in court charged with kidnapping and sexual offences, following the abduction of a three-year-old girl earlier this week.

Craig Sweeney, from Newport, was remanded at Cardiff magistrates' court on Friday.

He is due to reappear before Cardiff Crown Court on January 16.

Two other men, aged 34 and 47, who were also being questioned in connection with the inquiry have since been released without charge.

The toddler was allegedly abducted from her home in the Rumney area of Cardiff on Tuesday evening.

The girl was found by police in a car, which crashed on the M4 between Marlborough and Hungerford several hours later, following a police chase.

Officers had begun to pursue the grey Ford Escort after it was spotted travelling with no headlights on and ran through a red light.

Treated in hospital for her injuries, which the police described as "significant", she was later released from hospital.

(KMcA/SP)

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