Stone mum outraged after son's nursery escape

A mother said she was outraged her three-year-old son was able to escape from a nursery and cross a main road without staff knowing.

James got through a broken fence at Elmhurst House Day Nursery in Stone, Staffordshire, Fiona said.

He was seen on CCTV crossing the busy A520 in the town centre, which his mother described as "horrific".

Urgent action was taken to prevent it happening again, a nursery spokesperson said.

Staff were "shocked and distressed" at what happened to James and were "deeply relieved" he was not hurt, they added.

James escaped from the nursery on 16 May and it is understood a resident living nearby raised the alarm after spotting him.

It took about a month for his family to obtain CCTV footage that showed the danger he had been in, Fiona said.

In the film, which has been seen by the BBC, the three-year-old can be seen running through the town centre before stopping in the middle of the A520 on a pedestrian crossing.

The footage does not show if the crossing's lights were on red and, after a few seconds, James runs to the other side before traffic can be seen using the route.

James escaped from Elmhurst House Day Nursery through a broken fence, his mother Fiona said

His mother said she was "absolutely outraged" at what happened and her son did not know what could have happened to him.

"Even as I pass there, I get this shiver to think that my son has passed here on his own because it is a very busy crossing," Fiona added.

Ofsted inspectors visited the nursery two days after the escape after staff notified them and said they found action was taken to stop a repeat incident.

But they found some issues, which included the organisation needing more staff to effectively supervise children.

The nursery was given a welfare requirements notice and Ofsted said, on a follow-up visit, they found action was taken in all the areas highlighted.

"We regard this event as our responsibility and our failure. It should never be possible for a child to escape in this way, whatever the circumstances," the nursery's spokesperson added.