The victim was found in a distressed state in an alleyway

Police are hunting a middle-aged man wearing dark clothes and gloves who snatched the child from a ground floor bathroom on Tuesday evening.

She was found naked in an alleyway in Willington Quay near her home a short time later, too cold to speak.

Police also urged the man responsible to give himself up and "get this off your chest" before being caught.

Det Ch Insp Jim Napier, who is leading the hunt said: "From the girl's account, somebody has been brazen enough to enter her house, take her away undressed and then assaulted her in a manner which is clearly sexually motivated, and then leave her in this lane, in the dark, on her own.

"There were a lot of children playing in the area at the time the girl was taken and we would ask anyone who saw a man taking an unhealthy interest in them and watching to get in touch.

"This man is clearly extremely dangerous as he was willing to take the risk of going into a house to take the girl.

"I would say to this individual, come forward now and get this off your chest before we find you.

"I have a team of highly-trained, experienced detectives who are determined to bring this investigation to a swift conclusion."

Crying and crying

He said the girl would spend Friday with her family to have a "rest" after enduring hours of questioning by police.

The victim's grandmother, from County Durham, told the Daily Mail newspaper: "She seems to be coping well, though you never know what is going on underneath.

"She has been talking about the nasty man who took her away from the house and the nice man who found her crying.

"I just pray this man has not taken her innocence away. We have all been crying and crying but we all know it could have been even worse. We could have lost her, she was out there stark naked."

Mr Napier also said police patrols in the area had been stepped up to try to make local residents feel safe.

He added: "People round here will understandably be worried. I think it is important that they are vigilant, particularly in terms of knowing where their children are."

Officers are also keen to confirm reports of a car being driven erratically with screeching brakes between 1900 and 1930 GMT on Tuesday.