Parents say toddler found in middle of main road after wandering off from nursery

Parents who claim their toddler wandered off from nursery and was found by a stranger on a busy road say they have been left traumatised.

Sarah, 22, and Tarik, 24, from Swansea, said their two-year-old son Noah was found on his own on Gors Avenue, Mayhill.

"He could have been hit by a car, a bus, he could have been taken," Tarik said.

Seren Fach Day Nursery said it had implemented additional safety measures and "the safety, welfare and protection" of every child in their care remained a priority.

South Wales Police said it was investigating the incident after officers responded to reports of "safeguarding concerns" when a child left nursery without the knowledge of staff.

"This stuff shouldn't be happening, especially in a safe place," Tarik said. "How is that even possible?"

Sarah added: "When you drop your children off in school or nursery you never think that anything could happen to them because they are in a professional's hands."

The couple said they had found out about the incident when they had arrived to pick Noah up from nursery about 40 minutes afterwards.

They said the nursery blamed the incident on "no-one watching him" and "a door being left open".

But Noah's parents said he would have to pass through two baby gates, four doors including fire doors, and the main gate to reach Gors Avenue.

The couple have since taken Noah out of nursery, and said several other pupils have also been withdrawn as a result of the incident.

Despite them keeping a watchful eye on Noah, they said they were fearful for his safety and cannot rest.

"It's the worst possible scenario. We can't sleep, we know he's safe, pray to God he's safe, but we keep checking in on him."

The parents said they had spoken to three eyewitnesses who claim Noah had been alone with no adult supervision, and that the nursery had been unaware he was missing.

"When we first got in, we spoke to the manager, who said they were very sorry and there was no excuse for the doors to be open," Tarik said.

The nursery then made the couple aware of posts on Facebook about the incident, including a post from Nicolle Richards, who said she found Noah in the middle of the road and reported the incident.

In the post, Richards said: "Today has been one of the scariest days of my life. I was driving up Gors Avenue and could see a little boy walking in the middle of the road.

"I stopped and grabbed him, a man went down to the nursery to grab someone, a woman come out I explained he was in the middle of the road."

"We drop him off to nursery and think he's in a safe place. It's scary, the fact our son was in the middle of the road on his own," Tarik said.

"The police aren't taking it lightly, this is a two-year-old. We took Noah out of nursery as soon as it happened.

"[Sarah] hasn't been sleeping. We just keep checking."

In a statement on Facebook, Seren Fach Day Nursey said it was aware of the post on social media and "completely understand why members of the public and our families are concerned after reading the post".

It said: "The safety and wellbeing of the children entrusted to our care is something we take incredibly seriously, and we would never seek to minimise a concern of this nature.

"Seren Fach Day Nursery has been part of the local community for over 30 years and during that time we have cared for generations of children and families.

"We have established safeguarding and security procedures in place, alongside staff training and risk assessments, all of which are being carefully investigated as part of our response to this incident.

"We would ask that people avoid speculation or sharing information about the child or those involved on social media.

"Please raise any concerns directly with the nursery or the relevant authorities so that they can be properly addressed."

Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) said it was unable to comment while inquiries were ongoing, but it would take "any necessary action" to ensure children's safety and wellbeing.

"Where concerns are raised, we work to ensure providers meet the national minimum standards for regulated childcare, which include specific requirements on safeguarding, premises security and child protection.

"We would encourage anyone with concerns about the care of a child to contact CIW directly."