A SCOTS mum has issued a warning after being left terrified when a masked biker allegedly pestered her to let her son get on his motorbike with him – eight separate times.
Shauna Craig had collected her three-year-old son from nursey earlier this week and was on the way to her mum’s house in Ormiston, East Lothian when a man on a green dirt bike pulled up beside them.
The 24-year-old claims she was asked by the unidentified biker – who had no registration plates – if her son wanted to get on the bike and rev the engine, to which Shauna politely declined.
However, Shauna further claims that the man refused to take no for an answer, asking a further four times before driving off.
Left shaken by the encounter, Shauna continued her 15-minute walk before running into the man again at a street corner, who allegedly asked three further times if her son wanted to get onboard.
Despite the man’s insistence, Shauna was on the phone to her dad the second time around, who heard the entire interaction.
The man then allegedly finally gave up, tearing off despite his best efforts to seemingly get Shauna’s son aboard his bike.
The mum-of-three took to social media yesterday to warn other parents to be vigilant over the strange man lurking in East Lothian.
She wrote: “This happened in Ormiston but could be someone from Tranent or surrounding areas.
“It might not be anything but earlier on just after 3pm, myself and my three-year-old were walking up Tynemount Road and there was a guy on a green moto-crosser dressed all in dark clothing with his face covered.
“[He] asked five times for my son to go on the motorbike and those five times I repeated myself and said no.
“He then eventually left us alone and went down Meadowbank Crescent but, in the distance, you could hear the bike.
“A couple of minutes later we were going to cross the road towards the wee shop, and he came down Bramble Way.
“He stopped us again and asked a further three times [for my son to go on the bike] and I had the same answer.
“Luckily, I had my dad on the phone who witnessed this, if anyone has young children, please keep an eye on them.
“It only takes for someone to be too nice to convince a young one and it could be a totally different story.
“This might have been an innocent situation and the guy could have just been being nice but as a parent I expect the first no to be the answer and for the person to accept it and not keep asking.”
Her post received dozens of likes and comments on social media, with users quick to agree that Shauna’s inkling was correct.
One user said: “Strange times we’re living [in], nothing is right these days and this isn’t normal behaviour by any means.”
Another added: “Asking a three-year-old is not right, I’ve been a biker all my days and know for a fact that’s weird and not right.
“I would report it because if anything happens to any other kids in future it could be a massive regret to live with.”
A third added: “Hope they catch him.”
Speaking today, Shauna said: “Myself and my little one were walking down the road in Ormiston after I had collected him from nursery and the biker just saw us at the beginning of a street called Meadowbank Crescent.
“We were headed back to my mum’s who lives about 10 to 15 minutes away.
“The biker asked if my son wanted to go on his bike and rev the engine, but I said, ‘No he’s scared, he’ll get really upset’.
“The biker replied that was okay and it took me five times telling him the same answer for him to get the hint and we eventually got away, and he drove off.
“In the distance we could hear him, but little did we know that we would be stopped again with the same question and despite me saying the same answer, he quizzed me on what was wrong.
“I was on the phone to my dad, and he heard it himself, the bike didn’t have a registration and you couldn’t see the guy’s face, you could literally only see his eyes.
“I was honestly so scared, every other scenario was going through my head, some kids aren’t aware of stranger danger and they’re not always with an adult.
“All it would have taken was for him to approach a child and it goes a totally different way than what it did.
“I’ve never seen the guy in Ormiston before and you get to know the faces with it being a small village.
“After I put up my post, numerous other people have come forward and said they’ve seen him approaching other kids.”
