A NATIONWIDE hunt was under way last night after a partially clothed toddler was seen being bundled into the boot of a car by two men.

Police have "grave concerns" for the girl, who is believed to be aged three or four, after she was seen looking "limp" and naked from the waist up when she was driven off.

Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Kemp, who is leading the operation, said: "I have grave concerns for the welfare of this young girl.

"The little girl was carried from the back of the car and into the boot. It was an estate car but there was a parcel shelf which means the little girl was enclosed and out of sight. I am also concerned that it was quite late at night and there were two men involved."

The heightened alert follows the jailing of paedophile Craig Sweeney last week who was sentenced to just a five-year minimum tariff for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl.

Sweeney snatched the youngster from her home in Cardiff before taking her on a terrifying 80-mile drive and hurling her out of a window.

In the latest incident, on Wednesday, two witnesses called 999 after seeing the girl being put in the back of a green or blue Hyundai Lantra outside the Sainsbury's store in Swansea, South Wales. The car was later spotted crossing the M48 Severn Bridge back into England at 10.45pm. Police forces across the country have been put on alert to look out for the Hyundai - registration number N729FOO.


Suspicions were raised further when it was discovered that the vehicle had not been re-registered after the ownership was transferred.

Det Supt Kemp added: "Since the initial appeal, we have received a number of phone calls from members of the public who have provided us with information.

"As a result we are now pursuing a number of lines of inquiry. However, we have yet to hear from anyone who can positively tell us the whereabouts of this car and its owners.

"Therefore, I would ask anyone who has seen the car or knows of its whereabouts to come to speak to us as soon as possible."

A police spokesman added officers had not had any reports of a missing girl and do not know who her parents are.