UPDATE: 12:40pm, 25th June
Police have confirmed that the child's mother has been located, in the family home. The child is now said to be in the care of social services.
Police in England have issued a public appeal in the hope of locating the mother of a five-year-old girl found alone at a bus stop in Brighton yesterday.
According to reports, the little girl travelled on a train from London to Brighton, with a woman – thought to be her mother – but ended up getting separated from her shortly after.
CCTV footage shows the pair getting off the train together, then going to a public toilet at the station. They appear to have headed off into the city together, but somehow the little girl ended up alone at a bus stop outside of a hotel.
It was concerned members of the public who found the girl, sitting on a bench outside of the Hotel Ibis. Police are unsure whether the little girl lost her mother at the bus stop, or returned their after becoming separated.
Police have said they are now ‘extremely concerned’ and are ‘anxious to find the woman and check on her welfare’.
An investigating detective said: “We are appealing to the woman identified to urgently get in touch. Did you see this woman at the station, or have you seen her in town?”
The woman is described as black, in her mid-30s, and 5ft 9in in height. She has black curly hair, and when last seen she was wearing a flowery black top and black trousers.
Anyone with information is asked to get in touch with the police immediately.
We will keep you updated as more information emerges.
