A seven-year-old girl has died after drowning in a pond on a golf course in Doncaster, just hours after being left with a childminder found through a Facebook group. Nyla May Bradshaw, who was non-verbal and autistic, went missing from a property in the Skellow area shortly before 10am on Monday.
Her mother, Hayley Beardsley, had dropped her off at 7.45am that morning with a specialist SEND childminder for the first time. The childminder had only obtained her licence in January and charged £160 a day, claiming to specialise in autism. A family friend told Metro that Ms Beardsley had explicitly instructed the childminder not to take Nyla out anywhere.
Less than two hours after the drop-off, Ms Beardsley received a text saying Nyla had gone missing and police were on their way. An extensive search involving police drones and aircraft followed, and Nyla was found in a pond on Owston Hall golf course. Despite efforts from emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The family friend said: 'Hayley assumed that they were staying in all day with somebody like Nyla, who has got complex needs. The mother feels completely left alone. Everyone is blaming the parents, but they were both working hard – she was with a childminder.'
In an emotional Facebook tribute, Ms Beardsley wrote: 'It breaks my heart to write this, but today we lost our beautiful daughter Nyla May Bradshaw at just 7 years old. She was our whole world, full of love, laughter, and the brightest smile that could light up any room.'
South Yorkshire Police have launched an investigation and are supporting the family. A spokesperson said: 'The thoughts of everybody at SYP are with them at this devastating time.' Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting incident number 198 of March 30.
