Police have praised Nantwich Food Festival goers who sprung into action when a young child went missing during the packed event.
The incident happened during the busiest day of the festival on Saturday.
Officers and members of the public worked together to locate the seven-year-old who was reunited with her family later.
PCSO Lizzie Jolley said: “I would like just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who stopped and took the time to look for the little girl that was reported as missing last Saturday at Nantwich Food Festival.
“As you can imagine, every patrol we had available was out looking for her, and we were joined by many members of our community who were in Nantwich enjoying the Food Festival.
“We have such a caring community.”
Now officers have issued advice for families when they are attending busy bustling events in the town such as the Food Festival.
More than 40,000 people packed into parts of the town centre during the three-day event.
PCSO Jolley added: “As like all incidents like this, I spoke with my partners about what we could suggest to parents and caregivers to keep their child connected in case of them going missing.
“We talked about how the parents must have been terrified on Saturday, it’s every parents/caregivers nightmare.
“Every Officer felt a huge sense of relief when the little girl was located safe and well, and reunited with her family.
“These things can happen so quickly and at places as busy as the Food Festival, it is even more likely than the every day situations.”
Police have issued the following advice to families attending such events with young children:
– Sew or iron in labels on used coats/jackets or inside shoes with emergency contact details in. Tell them that it is there in case they need it. Remind them often.
– Discuss a meeting point in case you get separated – a shop or cafe. Tell your child to go straight to the till and tell the staff member that they are lost.
– Tell your child not to cross any road without you, this way they will be in the area near to where they were lost.
– Tell you child to remain in the place they last saw you and ask for help.
– If your child has a phone, tell them to call you, or if they cannot reach you call 999. Teach them how and when to call this number. Teach them your real names (not just Mummy and Daddy) so they know who to say they are with when they went missing. Learn the names of all caregivers.
-Take a photo of your child before or at the start of a busy event, in case they get lost. When you are stressed, it can be difficult to remember what they are wearing. This can be really useful to help with the Police finding them.
-Teach them that unless other arrangements are made, if they have gone to the event with you, they stay with you and only you.
-Hold their hand in busy places and for older children/young people use a tracker on their phone or clothes.
-When getting out of vehicles, tell your child to hold on to the door handle until you are ready to go.
PCSO Jolley added: “Please if you have children, take the time to have these conversations. They may help in an emergency.”
(Image courtesy of Jon Bailey Media)
at seven a child is quite capable of following parental instructions if lost just stand still, parents must teach kids this, I have lost the kids several times over the years, but they all remembered just to stand still much easier to find.