A mugger held a knife to a young child's throat and then robbed his grandmother, police have said.

The incident happened in Middlesbrough between 5pm and 6pm on Friday as the victim, a woman in her 40s, was taking her 19-month-old grandson for a walk.

She was pushing the pushchair along the footpath in the wooded area when a man came out of the bushes and demanded her purse.

When the victim refused to hand it over, the robber produced a knife and held it to her grandson's throat.

The victim then handed over her purse and the man ran off towards Normanby High Street.

Cleveland Police today said the child was not injured.

The victim has described the suspect to police as an "Asian male" with "very bad teeth" and a "foreign accent", the force said.

He was aged 20 to 25, around 6ft tall, with a medium build and short black hair.

He wore a black tracksuit with one red stripe down the side, a black leather belt with a pouch around his waist and black and gold Nike trainers.

DC Lewis Mackfall said: "This was clearly a terrifying incident for the victim and very distressing as it involved a threat of violence against her grandchild.

"We're appealing for anyone who might have seen a man matching this description to speak to us urgently by calling 101 with reference number 086712."

Reporting by Press Association.