West Yorkshire Police said they spoke to a set of parents after they were called to a car boot sale in Leeds following reports a young child had been left in a car
A couple left their baby locked in a hot car on its own while they reportedly hunted for bargains at a car boot sale on a sunny day in Leeds.
Social media users were met with outrage when they saw police had turned to the car boot sale off Otley Old Road in Bramhope, following reports that a young child had been locked in the car all alone without any water, milk or food.
One person posted on Facebook: “Car boot sale nr Leeds/brad airport, when it was noticed a young baby alone in a VERY HOT car , alone – NO WATER, NO ADULT, NO MILK. Just strapped into a car seat and left whilst parents went bargain hunting !!!!!!!!!!
“GOD ONLY KNOWS FOR HOW LONG – but it took a good 30 minutes to get into the car, and another 30 awaiting police!!!!! Wardens attempted to find the car owner – and an hour later still no joy !!!! it is now 3 hours later and the police have caught up with a parent !”
The post has received nearly 1,000 comments, with others equally as outraged at the situation. “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,” wrote one Facebook user.
Another person said: “They got away with it too! As we was leaving we heard the copper say ‘you don’t know how lucky you are to not be getting arrested’.”
A third wrote: “That’s awful my car was like an oven this morning and I didn’t want to be in my car even with the windows open so god only knows how this little baby felt”.
While a fourth added: “Omg this is AWFUL. I apologise to my daughter for the first part of our journey for how hot the car is, while waiting for the AC to kick in!
“I cannot imagine leaving her in the car for even a minute. The fact they took 1 hour to even find the parents lord knows how long the poor baby was in there for. I hope this negligence is dealt with properly by authorities.”
It was around 22 to 23C in Bramhope on Sunday when the incident happened, which means the inside of the parked car could have rapidly climbed past 38C in 10 minutes and exceeded 50C in the sun.
The Daily Star reached out to West Yorkshire Police. A spokesman confirmed no arrests had been made. They stated: “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.”
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