“When I put my child somewhere like a school nursery, I expect them to be safe.
“I don’t expect to have my three-year-old walking along the Lang Stracht at the beginning of rush hour alone.”
Kayleigh Kilpatrick had no idea her son River had gone missing from his Aberdeen nursery and was almost hit by a Lang Stracht bus until he was standing at the door with a stranger.
The lady, who was a concerned member of the public, then asked if Miss Kilpatrick had lost her son – to which she replied that he was meant to be at nursery.
River goes to Kingsford School Nursery between 1pm and 6pm during the week, so she couldn’t understand why he was standing there with a stranger at 4.45pm on Wednesday afternoon.
Miss Kilpatrick, 30, was left feeling overwhelmed and upset to learn her child was able to walk out of the nursery unnoticed.
She went to speak to the nursery herself to find out how her three-year-old came to be on the Lang Stracht.
The mother now wants extra alarms at the nursery while Aberdeen City Council has confirmed an investigation is underway.
‘I honestly just can’t believe this happened’
“They have no idea how he got out,” Miss Kilpatrick said in disbelief. “River was playing in the garden and he went to wash his hands and then they didn’t know where he was.
“He actually walked through the front door. He walked all the way down the road and then along Lang Stracht for about 20 mins by himself.
“River told me himself that a bus nearly hit him and it was really scary – he’s only three.
“I honestly just can’t believe this happened.”
Miss Kilpatrick believes there should be an alarm on the front door, and said an assistant at the nursery explained they had already asked for one to be installed.
According to the mum, the nursery had not realised he was gone at first, and staff put a call to police after he was already at home with his family.
The lady who found River had also already called the police after pulling the tot away from the busy road before staff realised he was gone.
With children being away on holiday and the nursery being quieter than term time, Miss Kilpatrick cannot understand how they didn’t realise he was missing.
She says River will not be going back to the nursery at present, however, they have said they will investigate the incident.
She said: “I’m really shocked, it’s literally my worst nightmare, I have a lot of problems trusting people with my children.
“How can I ever trust anyone to watch my son again?”
Nursery doors inspected by council
Aberdeen City Council has met with the parents and is carrying out a full investigation.
They have also checked the doors of the nursery today.
A council spokeswoman said: “Education officials have spoken and met with the parents and we will continue to maintain contact.
“We are in the process of fully investigating the incident so we have a clear set of actions to progress. We are checking the doors at the nursery today and will make any adjustments as necessary.”
A police spokeswoman confirmed that inquiries were carried out after a call was made by a member of the public.
Conversation