An investigation is under way at a Hastings nursery school after staff left a toddler behind when they went on a trip, its manager said today.
Thomas Harvey's mother, Hilary, realised her three-year-old son was not with his friends when she went to pick him up from Clive Vale Nursery School in Hastings at the end of the day.
She told the Sun newspaper: "The cars started to arrive back and were unloading the children when I realised Thomas wasn't there. The staff were asking each other 'Is Thomas not with you?'.
"It was bizarre - there was no real sense of urgency. All it needed was a head count."
The nursery school had been on an outing to Clambers play centre in the town. Staff there looked after the child when he told them he had lost everyone until his mother arrived to pick him up.
Nursery manager William Hamilton said he could not comment because of an ongoing Ofsted inquiry into the incident.
He added: "We have a 25-year history of going out on trips and looking after children without anything like this happening before. We take the issue of safety of children very seriously."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here