A man has come forward after a public appeal over an incident involving a child outside a supermarket in Nelson.
Police say a member of the public rang them, saying a man swore at a girl aged about four or five years as they were walking towards a car outside Countdown in Stoke.
The witness says the man then kicked the girl from behind, enough to shove her forwards. The pair then left in a car with a woman passenger.
Police say an investigation has begun.
