A mum has slammed her son’s nursery after the two-year-old escaped from the preschool and was only found almost three hours later by a dog-walker in a local park.
Rheanne Bell, criticised Woodlands Nursery and Preschool for failing to establish with her that the toddler had disappeared.
Little Raffi is reported to have made his bid for freedom through a hole in the nursery’s outdoor area, before crossing a road and walking half a mile to the park.
It was there a dog-walker observed Raffi for a period of time before they knew he was missing.
They promptly informed the police who quickly arrived on the scene.
Rheanne said she was in ‘pure panic mode’ when she knew Raffi had gone missing on Tuesday October 26.
The mum of one blasted the nursery in Earl Shilton when she spoke to Leicestershire Live : “I received a phone call from the pre-school at 12.15pm to say that he had escaped. I was just at home luckily as an appointment was cancelled.
“I was in pure panic mode. I couldn’t stop screaming. They hadn’t mentioned on the phone that he had been found, so I was in bits the whole way there.
“As I pulled up, I saw the police cars and went straight into panic mode. I asked where my son was, but officers calmed me down and told me he had been found.”
Officers at the scene took Rheanne home and informed her a dog walker noticed Raffi at Wood Street Park shortly before 9.45am.
She was told they “observed” Raffi for 30 minutes before realising he was alone and contacted the authorities.
A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said they were called to the scene at 10.15am.
They said: “At 10.15am on Tuesday 26 October police were called by a member of the public stating they had found a little boy, on his own, in a park in Earl Shilton.
“The boy was safeguarded by police and it was found that he was missing from a nearby nursery.
“Enquiries were carried out officers and the matter has been referred to OFSTED.”
Rheanne said although the nursery has apologised, she said has not heard from them since with “any type of explanation”.
She said: “I don’t think they understand the severity of the situation. The police didn’t know where Raffi had come from till they made enquiries.
“It was 12pm before they came across Woodlands - that’s almost three hours that he had been gone and I hadn’t been told.
"The dog walker had to intervene because he was running back down the main road.
“I just feel as though he made a narrow escape. It just doesn’t bare thinking about. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare.
“Now - we’re feeling much better grateful and thankful he’s ok.”
Our sister title Leicestershire Live contacted Woodlands Nursery and Preschool, but they declined to comment.
