A MUM has criticised a Barrhead nursery after claiming her three-year-old child was able to leave the building without staff noticing.

Pamela Murray said she was horrified to learn her son Nate had managed to make his way out of the Arthurlie Family Centre and head to the car park.

By chance, 39-year-old Pamela discovered what had happened after arriving early to pick him up.

She frantically gave chase and managed to stop Nate as he approached a busy road.

Pamela claims staff were unaware he had left the nursery when she confronted them a short time later.

She has now lodged a complaint with the Care Inspectorate and taken her son out of the nursery, which is run by East Renfrewshire Council.

The incident at the nursery, in Auburn Drive, happened around 12.30pm on Thursday.

Pamela told the Barrhead News: “I normally collect him at 12.45pm but I was early.

“At first, Nate ran towards me but then he continued into the car park.

“I eventually managed to grab him by the hood to stop him running on to the main road.

“If I had been five minutes later, I hate to think what could have happened to my son.”

Pamela says that, as children leave the nursery, they are usually taken outside by a member of staff to meet their parents.

She added: “I had to leave my other son, who is only five, to chase after Nate. He is a typical three-year-old. He has no road sense or sense of danger.”

Pamela, who is a full-time mum, had a meeting with senior nursery staff on Monday to air her concerns.

She added: “They were very apologetic.

“They told me that nothing like this had ever happened before but I said it was too late and my son won’t be returning.”

Pamela is now hoping to find a place for Nate in another Barrhead nursery.

A council spokesperson said: “We have met with Ms Murray to apologise for this unfortunate incident.

“Safety and wellbeing of all the children at our family centres is our top priority. A full investigation into this incident is being carried out to ensure lessons are learned, with additional measures put in place where required.”