Woman charged after allegedly taking pram and toddler from mother in Lake Macquarie shopping centre

A woman who was in shopping center, west of Newcastlewith her children was “shaken” after a stranger tried to take the pram containing the mother’s two-year-old girl.

The alleged offender, a 41-year-old woman, didn’t get far before the mother and members of the public sprang into action, NSW Police said.

The mother and her two children – aged two years and 10 months – were in Stockland Glendale, Lake Macquarie, when the woman approached them at around 12.30pm on Sunday.

Get the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

“A woman, who was not known to the couple, allegedly grabbed the stroller that the two-year-old girl was in,” police said.

“The woman tried to push the pram with the child but was stopped by the mother and other people.

“The mother and children were shaken but otherwise unharmed during the incident.”

The 41-year-old woman left the shopping center after the incident, but the investigation led police to her the next day.

She allegedly tried to resist arrest at the Windale subdivision around 12:50 a.m. Sunday.

She was charged with three counts of stalking, battery and obstructing police.

The woman was granted strict conditional bail to appear at Belmont Local Court on July 17.