Five children were being questioned by police tonight after a young boy was found wandering in a wood in a distressed state with ligature-like marks around his neck.

Detectives said they were treating the attack as attempted murder, but refused to confirm reports that the five-year-old sustained his injuries through being hanged.

The distraught youngster was discovered by a member of the public, fully clothed in a wooded area close to a medical centre in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, last night. As well as the ligature marks there was bruising on his body.

Four local children - two girls aged 11 and 12 and two boys aged 11 and 12 - were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, a West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said. Later, police confirmed a fifth child, a 12-year-old boy, had been arrested in connection with the incident. At least two more arrests are likely, police said.

Speaking outside Dewsbury Police Station, Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan, the senior investigating officer, said that the young victim was not related to any of his attackers. He said: "He has got a number of bruises to his body and has a number of marks around his neck and clearly what we would hope to gain by interviewing him today and this evening would be to establish how he came by those injuries."

Asked if the boy had been hanged, Mr Brennan replied: "He has marks around his neck which could be consistent with ligature marks.

"However he has not been interviewed in relation to how he came by them but clearly there are marks around his neck, which give me cause for concern.

"Clearly the family are very distressed. The victim is a five-year-old child who suffered serious injuries, which is why those arrested last night and this morning were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder."

The detective added: "I would appeal to anyone close to the woods near the medical centre to come forward. Clearly yesterday was a very sunny day, there was a lot of people out at that time and I would urge them to come forward."

None of the children in custody are related to each other, the detective added.

The young boy was taken to Dewsbury District Hospital, where he was treated overnight and discharged this afternoon.
He is being interviewed by specially-trained officers, who will attempt to piece together exactly what took place yesterday.

Police believe the incident happened between 5.30pm and 6pm last night in a wooded area at the rear of the Earlsheaton Medical Centre in Dewsbury.

Police said a "number of items" had been recovered from the scene, which backs onto parkland.

Residents at houses on quiet estates surrounding the grassed area said they had seen nothing last night.

Several paths through the wooded area were marked by patches of flattened grass, some of which opened up into den-like areas. In one of these areas, which was covered by trees and out of view of the road, rubbish littered the ground.

The father of one of the 12-year-old boys who was arrested declined to comment at his home in Dewsbury. But he confirmed his son had been arrested and taken to a police station for questioning.

One woman who was walking her dog close to the wooded area today said there were always children out playing on the fields. Margaret King, 46, of Savile Town, Dewsbury, said: "There’s always children playing around here, especially during the school holidays.

"I know some of the people who live round here have had problems with them because some of their houses are very close to the edge of the field, but they’ve got to play somewhere, haven’t they ?"

This afternoon, several small groups of children stood around in the rain, many smoking, on the edge of the woods.

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