An investigation is now underway after a shopkeeper found a five-year-old schoolboy wandering alone next to a busy main road, a mile away from his school in England.
The child is believed to have left Mill Lane Primary School on his own, without any of the staff noticing, and walked up to a mile away from the premises.
Shopkeeper Shaun Shafiq recalled discovering the boy at approximately 3:40 in the afternoon: “I was working behind the counter when I heard activity outside and wondered what was going on.”
“I went outside and saw a little boy wearing his school uniform, wandering on the footpath. He was on his own and looked so lost, so I brought him into the shop,” he added.
Describing the boy as “shocked and confused”, Shaun said that he and his father, John, made the child feel as safe as possible while they waited for police to arrive.
Shortly after Cleveland Police attended the scene, the little boy’s father picked him up. He proceeded to stop by the shop to thank the Shafiqs for minding his scared little boy.
Police have now confirmed that the incident is under investigation. Meanwhile, management at the child’s school have said that they are ‘urgently reviewing their safeguarding procedures’.
