A woman who caused “unimaginable terror” when she tried to snatch a seven-month-old baby girl from outside a shop has been jailed. Nicolette Goldrick, 51, approached the child in Blackpool’s Central Drive while her mother was inside the store, before walking away with the pram on May 10.
However, she was arrested after the mother shouted after Goldrick and stopped her a short distance down the street near Coral Island amusements, while passers-by also stepped in to help. The mother later said she is still traumatised by the notion Goldrick may have stolen her baby to harm or even sell her.
Goldrick, of Marton Drive, Blackpool, was jailed for 12 months at Preston Crown Court and made subject to a five-year restraining order after admitting child abduction and assaulting an emergency worker.
The court heard the child’s mother had been working at a shop in Central Drive on May 10, 2025, and had been forced to take her child to work with her because of a staffing shortage.
CCTV footage of the incident showed her standing next to the pram on the pavement outside to oversee a delivery.
As she momentarily looked away to sign an invoice Goldrick, who was wearing a facemask, slipped in between them, took hold of the pushchair handles and slowly walked off down the street.
A member of the shop staff spotted what had happened and asked the mother “do you know her?” The mum quickly realised what had just happened, shouted at Goldrick “what are you doing?” and ran down the street to grab her pram.
Goldrick did not respond and simply walked away. But she returned to the scene later that afternoon dressed in different clothing. The mother’s husband recognised her and called the police.
While being put in the back of a police van, she was seen to draw her head back and then spit forcibly towards the officer. She smelled strongly of alcohol and had slurred speech.
In a victim personal statement read out in court the baby’s mother, who was sitting in the public gallery during the hearing, described that day for her and her husband as “the worst of our life”.
Their daughter was “a baby we had waited for and longed for”. She couldn’t believe what happened in front of her eyes, it had been “terrifying” and she wondered what would have happened if Goldrick had got away with the child.
The mother also revealed that she had suffered abuse on social media after the incident had been reported by people “who didn’t know the truth”.
She said her husband had suffered from “terrible” nightmares and anxiety and it had taken a lot for her to return to work afterwards.
The couple had now put a harness on the pram and also a tracker. The mum said she was wary of others and wouldn’t let her daughter out of her sight in case someone took her. “Our life has been ruined in a big way”.
Prosecutor David Polglase said another incident involving Goldrick happened before the abduction – meaning she was on police bail at the time she tried to steal the baby.
Explaining the first incident, he said Goldrick had pushed her way into the Cottage Bakery in Blackpool and slammed her hands down on the counter.
She had shouted “a life for a life” and after some incomprehensible remarks she said: “I am going to get justice.”
The woman behind the counter tried to take her food order but Goldrick continued her rant, turning to a customer and shouting: “What are you looking at?”
At that point she produced a small knife from her bag and pointed it towards a customer, waving it across in a cutting motion. She was ushered out and arrested.
The woman in the bakery told police she had been fearful and had never experienced anything like it in 12 years working there.
Mr Polglas said Goldrick had seven offences on her criminal record, including being drunk in charge of a child.
Anthony Parkinson, defending, said his client had suffered two bereavements in the period before the offences and revealed “her mental health condition has had a significant impact on her offending”.
She had been sectioned in April spending two weeks in hospital and there had been a deterioration in her mental state.
She had been “taking out a doll telling people it was her young son and asking people if they were in a position to babysit the doll”.
“She was intoxicated at the time (of the attempted abduction) but the root cause is not alcohol or drugs – it is the fact her mental health disorder.”
Judge Daniel Prowse told Goldrick he was satisfied her mental health had been a factor in how she had behaved.
But he said he had to consider the impact of the attempted abduction on the child’s parents.
He said: “To have a child abducted by a stranger is every parent’s nightmare.” He added that even though it had only been a brief incident “it doesn’t make it any less frightening for them”.
“I am satisfied that you were affected by mental illness at the time of these offences.”
Tom Snape, Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service North West, said: “Nicolette Goldrick’s brazen actions caused unimaginable terror as she attempted to abduct a baby.
“This incident encapsulates every parent’s worst nightmare, forcing her mother to chase after her. Goldrick’s abuse to the officers upon her arrest suggests she has little remorse for her actions.
“I hope the baby’s parents can begin to move forward knowing Goldrick has faced the consequences of her actions.”