West Yorkshire Police have confirmed that officers attended a car boot sale off Otley Old Road in Bramhope, Leeds, on Sunday morning after a baby was reportedly left alone inside a parked vehicle. The force said the child's parents were identified and spoken to, and enquiries are continuing.
Social media post raises concern
Details of the incident emerged via a Facebook post by content creator Jody Lloyd-Francis, which quickly gained widespread attention. At the time of writing, the post had received more than 5,800 reactions and over 1,200 comments, with many people expressing concern for the child and questioning how the situation was handled.
In her post, Lloyd-Francis said the baby was found alone in a "very hot car" at the site, which is near Leeds Bradford Airport. She described the child as "just strapped into a car seat" with "no water, no adult, no milk", and said wardens attempted to find the owner before police arrived.
In a later update, she clarified that she was not the first person to discover the child, and that the initial finder had immediately contacted police and followed their guidance. She also noted: "Both parents were at the car boot sale," adding that despite efforts to track them down, "nobody will ever know how long the baby was there prior to being seen."
Public reaction
The post attracted hundreds of responses from members of the public. One commenter, Sparkling Cleans Gardens, wrote: "Why did no one smash a window? People smash windows for dogs left in a car all the time, not for a baby. I wouldn't have waited half an hour, no way."
Sally Brown added: "I would've smashed the window too much waiting around."
Lloyd-Francis responded by saying staff at the event "were amazing" but had been worried about frightening the baby and potentially getting into trouble with police. Another commenter, Teresa Parkes, claimed she overheard an officer tell the parents: "You don't know how lucky you are to not be getting arrested."
Police statement
West Yorkshire Police confirmed that officers were called to the scene. A spokesperson said:
"Police were called to a car boot sale off Otley Old Road, Bramhope, at 9:44am yesterday (2 August) following reports of child neglect. This related to a child reportedly left in the back of a car alone. The child's parents were identified and spoken to by officers. Enquiries are continuing to establish what happened."
