A mother whose daughter was picked up from nursery by a stranger is demanding more answers after claiming the account she was initially given about what happened has 'completely changed'.
Jody Riley, 37, said 'everything felt like a blur' after she received the phone call from her daughter Rosie's nursery, Kids Planet Crosby, to say that another child's grandad had picked her up. She described the call last Wednesday (June 10) as being 'every parent's worst nightmare'.
Jody claims she was told the man had picked up her sleeping daughter and driven off with her for at least 10 minutes before anyone realised the error. She said: 'My phone rang at around 2.20pm and it took a while for the staff member to tell me what had happened, but she eventually told me somebody had picked Rosie up and they were still investigating it.'
'They let me know she was back at the nursery safe and everything felt like a blur from there. I had a panic attack and I had to try and calm myself down to go and get her. Getting that call is every parent's worst nightmare and I feel like I've had a taste of what that is like now.'
Jody, from Formby, in Merseyside, said she was baffled as to how the man had managed to leave the premises without any member of staff realising he had taken the wrong child. She said: 'The staff were shook up and couldn't apologise enough but they didn't have any answers for me.'
'At that stage I was still mid panic attack and in shock so I wasn't asking all the questions I could because I just wanted to see my daughter. Obviously I knew she was safe which was the main thing, but in a situation like that you start to worry about everything. I just kept thinking about how long she was missing for before either the nursery or the man noticed and I wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone.'
Following the incident, a Kids Planet spokesperson stated: 'We can confirm that an incident occurred at our Crosby setting in which a child was mistakenly released to a grandparent who is known to staff, has passed all required security vetting and who is an approved collector for a different child, who was also onsite at the time. The child was returned safely to the nursery within minutes, and we are in direct continuous contact with the families involved to offer our sincere apologies and to provide ongoing support while a full investigation takes place.'
'The safety and wellbeing of the children in our care is our highest priority, and we take this unprecedented matter extremely seriously, which is why we have implemented immediate measures including supervised working for the team and additional security protocols, as well as working to revise our policies and training.'
However, Jody has since revealed she was given an update from the nursery last Friday (June 12) that has left her feeling 'more anxious'. She told the ECHO: 'The story at the start was that he had picked Rosie up when she was asleep and he only realised it was the wrong child when she woke up and started crying in the car but now the story has completely changed.'
Jody explained that after staff reviewed video footage she was informed the man had walked in with another parent and walked through two security doors to get to the toddler room where Rosie was sleeping. She said: 'The man then physically woke up my daughter and held her in his arms when she was awake. Two members of staff in the room then went to go and get her belongings for him, which included her very significant, massive blanket. Apparently the members of staff then said Rosie's name at least three times before he walked out of the room with her, put her in his car and then drove away for at least 10 minutes.'
'We've asked the nursery several times for him to contact us and the more this is going on the more sick I feel. I am very anxious because I feel like I've been told two separate stories now and I just want more answers.'
Responding to Jody's remarks regarding what she was informed on Friday, a Kids Planet spokesperson said: 'We are unable to comment further while internal and external investigations are ongoing. We are working closely with all relevant authorities, including Ofsted and the LADO (local authority designated officer), to ensure these investigations are thorough and progressed without delay. We remain in direct, regular contact with the families involved and are sharing relevant updates from all enquiries as they progress.'
