Mother traumatised after woman tries to strangle baby in chemist

Police are hunting for a woman who tried to choke a baby in a busy London chemist before saying “that baby would rather be dead”.

CCTV shows the woman, believed to be in her early 60s, walking into the Boots store at about midday on Friday and approach the mother and her one-year-old baby.

The woman reaches into the pram, just as the mother briefly turns her back on it.

The mother turns back around to see the woman with her hands on the baby.

She later told police she thought at first the woman was “cooing” over her son but quickly realised she was actually trying to choke him.

The mother managed to push the woman away but was left “severely shaken up”, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

"The baby was not injured due to his mother's quick reaction, however she was extremely shaken up and traumatised by the incident."

"The suspect uttered the words 'that baby would rather be dead' as she was escorted out by a security guard at Boots,” the spokesman said.

The woman is described as being of chubby build, with light coloured hair and a boil on her face or an eye deformity.