Management
Nursery staff foil child abduction
Staff at a Hull nursery have won praise for their vigilance after foiling an attempt by an unknown woman to snatch a child from the setting.
A CCTV image of the unknown woman that was released by police
The woman arrived at Kingston Nursery last month and claimed she was there to pick up an 18- month-old girl. Staff admitted her inside but said the girl could not be released without her parents' permission. However, by the time a staff member had reached Marzena Marcin, the child's mother, on the telephone, the woman had fled.
Ms Marcin was horrified when she saw CCTV images and realised the woman was a complete stranger. She told a local newspaper, 'I was in shock when I first saw the image of the woman. I couldn't believe that someone tried to take my child.'
Police have released CCTV images of the woman they want to speak to in connection with the incident.
Amy Wilkinson, manager of Kingston Nursery, said, 'The woman knew the girl's name and knew where she would be. She also knew how to get in and out of the building. We always check this with the parents before we let anyone else pick up their child, and we asked this lady to wait while we gave the parents a call. While we were calling the parents she took her mobile phone out as though she was calling someone too and then left the building. We want people to help the police identify the woman so we can get to the bottom of what happened. I think a lot of parents are worried.'
She added, 'The police, the family of the child and other parents with children at the nursery have praised the care and vigilance and the policies and procedures that were implemented, and we will continue this good practice.'
Hull City Council has written to every local early years provider informing them of the incident and reminding them to be vigilant. Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Carl Vessey-Baitson, from Humberside Police, said, 'At this stage it is not clear why the woman attended the nursery to collect the child, but we need to speak to her in order to establish what happened. We are working with the Hull Safeguarding Children Board and Hull City Council to ensure advice reaches childcare staff.'
