A man has been labelled 'deluded' after a baby was left alone in a car parked at Asda. Police were alerted after a concerned customer noticed the tot in the vehicle next to his at Wolstanton Retail Park.
He said he spotted the 'distressed' child - thought to be aged nine to 15 months - as the alarm had been going off. After alerting the store security an announcement was put over the tannoy to find who was with the child.
Staffordshire Police was also called shortly after 10pm on Wednesday. It has now confirmed it is carrying out an investigation, reports Stoke on Trent Live.
According to a post on social media a man turned up a short time later. He claimed he'd only been in the store for "two minutes" and when challenged by the shopper over the safety of leaving a child, putting her at risk of abduction he replied - "well she could be snatched from me in store".
Posting on social media, the man who spotted the baby questioned his behaviour. He wrote: "I witnessed something so disgusting. I went shopping at Asda, Wolstanton.
"When I returned to my car the car in a space next to me had its alarm going off. I looked inside and could see a child, roughly aged nine to 15 months at a guess, in the back of the car strapped in and alone. The child was in the back right passenger seat.
"The child was distressed with the alarm going, an iPad or similar tablet on its lap. I went back to store asking for a call out to get the parent out.
"As a security guard and myself returned back to the car the parent turned up. I asked what he thought he was doing leaving a child of that age in the car. His response was that he was only in the store for two minutes. I explained that two seconds is too long to leave a child of such a young age in a car alone. What if something happened?
"His response, I have cameras on the car. So yes of course a camera is going to stop your child from choking if she was to be sick or stop a car thief or child abductor who could access her in a second. His response, well she could be snatched from me in store.
"How can you speak with such a deluded, arrogant and purely stupid individual. I left the interaction at that as a conversation with such a f***wit I am not capable of."
Staffordshire Police confirmed an investigation into the incident has been launched. A spokesman said: " Police were called at 10.30pm last night (Wednesday 5 October) to reports a baby had been left alone in a car at Asda in Wolstanton. Enquiries are ongoing."
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