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Chessington World of Adventures park security 'let my son wander off' (From Your Local Guardian)
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Chessington World of Adventures park security 'let my son wander off'
5:00pm Thursday 18th June 2009
A concerned mother has criticised security at Chessington World of Adventures after her four-year-old son was allegedly allowed to wander out of the park gates unattended.
Janet Williams, from Wallington, who was at the park on May 29, said she panicked when she noticed son James had disappeared.
The mother-of-two had stopped to buy a backpack for him at a kiosk close to the exit but, when she turned around, he had gone.
She said: “I was screaming for him everywhere. The first couple of minutes when a child goes missing are very important so I was in a bit of a state.”
A member of staff said he thought the boy had gone to the toilet but a few minutes later she heard her son’s cries.
He had managed to walk through security and into the car park, where a woman found him.
She said: “Thank God a responsible female found him. He could have been picked up by anyone. He was crying his eyes out and I was in a frantic state.
“The security on the entrance is fantastic but it needs to be looked at on the exit.
“I’m very concerned about it. He was only gone about four minutes but that’s not the point. A four-year-old child was allowed to walk out of the park by himself.”
A spokesman for Chessington said the only possible explanation was he walked out with a crowd, although Mrs Williams insisted it was quiet when they left at about 4pm.
A spokesman said: “We do question children when they walk out of the park.
"I’ve witnessed it myself and that’s how staff are trained. I know lone children are questioned but we can’t question every person that walks out the gate.
“As soon as a child is reported missing, staff will implement our well-rehearsed procedures to reunite the child with the family as quickly as possible.
"In this particular case the child was not reported missing.”
The incident happened just two days after glamour model Katie Price visited the park with her children Harvey and Princess Tiaamii.
Security came under fire then for a very different reason – staff were reportedly “aggressive” in providing personal protection for the model.
Mrs Willams said: “I accept it was half term and it’s a busier time for them but they should treat this as a learning curve.”
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Your Say YourLocal Guardian
ric, kingston says...
8:34am Fri 19 Jun 09
what if it had been someone that lead him away and then out the park? wouldnt have been stopped then.
its much easier to just keep your eye on your own children.
Tony from Surbiton, Surbiton says...
10:42am Fri 19 Jun 09
Fred1, Surbiton says...
6:57pm Fri 19 Jun 09
And I'm not going to let political correctness about single mothers get in the way of pointing out that you really need to have at least *two* adults when you're supervising a child who's capable of walking about by themselves - even if it's only one child. Obviously you need more adults if you have more children.
Having said all that, there's no suggestion that anyone's throwing any lawsuits around over this. After all, who can you pin it on if your child goes missing somewhere a bit less commercialised - like Ashtead Common, for example? At least CWA actually *had* security staff to complain about in the first place.
Sure, the child could have been picked up by anyone. But let's get things in perspective. If you really wanted to kidnap a child or two in the hope of selling them to paedophiles and slave traffickers, then hanging around a theme park would be a very bad idea. You'd be much better off hanging around a local authority care home, preferably one which is in close proximity to an airport and an immigration detention centre. That's because these are the kids that no-one's going to be bothered about if they go missing, and you'd therefore be less likely to be caught. It happens so frequently that it never even makes the news.
The loss of a child only makes the news when they *do* have parents - and as can be seen from this example, they only have to be lost for a few minutes, and it still makes the news! So I think parents would do well to bear this in mind when they are assessing the risks that are faced by their children.
I hope not, Sutton says...
2:32pm Wed 24 Jun 09
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elyob, Kingston says...
8:32am Fri 19 Jun 09
Obviously Mrs Williams has time to contact the papers, perhaps she should also spend a little time to reflect on her immediate reaction to the incident.
Of course, CWA may be covering ... she should request the CCTV coverage they undoubtedly have.