A teenage boy who was left abandoned by his parents on the side of a motorway at night was forced to walk a mile alone in the pitch black to find help.
The 17-year-old was left with no option but to walk down the M11 in Cambridgeshire along the darkest stretch of motorway at night until he found an emergency SOS phone and called the police for help, the Mirror reports.
The teen was taken into temporary police protection and Cambridgeshire Constabulary's Child Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit (CAIU) is now investigating the incident.
The specialist officers are working to find a place for the boy to live.
A force spokesperson said: "Thanks to officers from our Child Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit (CAISU), he was temporarily placed in police protection and is in a safer environment while investigations continue into where he will now be happiest.
"A lot of the work from our CAISU team is sensitive in nature and difficult to share, but examples like this highlight work that goes on behind the scenes and helps highlight our commitment to protecting children – a force priority."
The police are urging anyone with any concerns about the safety of a child to contact them as soon as possible. All reports can be made in confidence and anonymously.
For more information and advice on child protection, including how to report concerns, visit the force’s dedicated web page.
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