Woman then said: 'That baby would rather be dead' and left store

Mother thought attacker was 'fussing over' her son but then stopped her

It seemed a friendly stranger was simply coming over to peer into a pram and admire a fellow shopper’s little boy.

But the woman who approached this mother in a Boots store had a far more sinister intention.

The stranger grabbed hold of the one-year-old and throttled him, telling his mother: ‘That baby would rather be dead.’

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Attack: Police are hunting for the woman in the striped poncho who throttled a stranger's one-year-old baby boy who was saved from further injury by her mother

Threat: The suspect was confronted by the mother and security and said 'that baby would rather be dead'

Police are now hunting for the woman believed to be in her sixties, who assaulted the child in a Boots store on The Strand in central London.

CCTV footage of the incident on January 16 shows how the baby was attacked so forcefully that the pushchair started moving across the shop floor.

Scotland Yard said the boy was only saved from serious injury by the fast response of his mother, who grabbed the woman’s hand and pulled her away.

Detectives believe the mother and her son were followed into the store, close to Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross railway station, at around 12.30pm.

The suspect walked the length of the shop towards them and then reached into the pram, taking hold of the baby’s throat.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘The mother of the baby had originally thought that the suspect was going to just look and fuss over her baby.

Planned: Detective believe that the woman had followed the mother and baby into the central London Boots before choking the child

Description: The suspect is described as a white woman in her early sixties, 5ft 2ins tall, of chubby build, with light coloured hair and a boil or eye deformity on her face

‘But when she saw what was actually happening, she immediately grabbed the suspect’s hand to prevent the assault from continuing.

‘The baby was not injured due to his mother’s quick reaction. However, she was extremely shaken up and traumatised by the incident.’

A security guard then intervened and the attacker said, ‘That baby would rather be dead’ as she was escorted out of the store.

She is said to have walked off towards Trafalgar Square. Police followed her on CCTV but lost track of her in the crowds. The suspect is described as white, in her early sixties, 5ft 2in tall, of a chubby build, with light- coloured hair and a boil or eye deformity.

She wore a deer stalker hat and a distinctive white, red and grey striped poncho top with a brown handbag and black boots.