A seven-year-old girl was left abandoned and crying at a bustling beach after a council-funded holiday club allegedly moved on without her, prompting a frantic 999 call.
Georgia Watson was left alone for 30 minutes in the busy North Shields Fish Quay area after she went to the toilet and returned to find her group had vanished. The youngster was eventually discovered by three 'kind women' who found her sobbing and were forced to call the police when they couldn't reach the club's organisers.
Her mother, Rachel Watson, 36, says she has been left 'physically sick' by the ordeal and is now demanding accountability from the provider Claire's Family Fitness. Rachel, from Wallsend, had trusted the holiday club to keep her daughter safe, but says the experience turned into a living nightmare.
'The fact my daughter was alone by herself scares me. Anything could have happened,' Rachel told the Mirror. 'Anyone could have found her. I felt physically sick from it all. I am just so grateful three kind women found her.'
Georgia had been attending the club as part of a routine day out on April 9. It is understood that while the group of around 15 children were at the beach, Georgia went to the bathroom - but when she came out, the four staff members and other children were nowhere to be seen. Rachel claims Claire, who has since left the company, apologised over the phone.
North Tyneside Council confirmed they were made aware of the incident. Haley Hudson, Interim Director of Corporate Strategy and Customer Service, said: 'North Tyneside Council was made aware on 9 April of an incident involving a child during a commissioned Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) session delivered by an external provider. All HAF providers commissioned by us undergo strict quality assurance and safeguarding checks.'
