'What should have been a normal day at the supermarket turned out to be our worst nightmare'

A stranger snatched a three-year-old boy and headed for the exit at an Aldi store when his mum's back was turned - before the child's big brother ran to rescue him. A judge described it as 'every parent's worst nightmare'.

The woman was paying for her shopping at the Heywood store. Her two kids were sat on the bagging shelf behind the tills.

Within seconds of the mum turning her back, Sergejus Paskevicius picked up the younger boy and walked towards the exit. The child's big brother, seven, ran in front of the 60-year-old, grabbed his sibling's leg and dragged him away.

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The eldest boy has been left traumatised and suffers with PTSD. He's now terrified of being left alone.

Paskevicius initially pleaded guilty to child abduction before vacating his plea. A year later, he admitted the charge. Now he's been jailed.

Minshull Street Crown Court was earlier told the incident happened on July 23 last year. Prosecuting, Betsy Hindle said the mum saw Paskevicius in front of them at the tills. She didn't recognise him.

Paskevicius was packing his bags on the shelf at the front of the store when he struck. In CCTV shown in court, the woman was seen turning to check on her children, before seeing Paskevicius talking to them.

"She saw the defendant had a bag on his shoulder and noticed he was taking a long time to pack his items, but she turned back and continued to pack her shopping at the till," Ms Hindle said.

"A few seconds later, she turned again and saw the defendant carrying her youngest child while walking