Vulnerable boy escaped through caravan window while under care of social workers

An investigation has been launched after a vulnerable boy escaped the care of social workers while staying at the Craig Tara caravan resort in South Ayrshire.

The 11-year-old climbed through the window of a caravan during the night before walking several miles along a busy carriageway to his mother’s home in Ayrshire.

She is said to have raised the alarm by contacting police and South Ayrshire Council’s social services on-call team.

South Ayrshire Council said it was was fortunate that the boy was found safe and well but it would be working with staff to ensure it does not happen again.

Paula Godfrey, Head of Children’s Health, Care and Criminal Justice Services, said: “The safety and wellbeing of children in our care is always our number one priority.

“While we cannot comment on the specifics or people involved in individual cases, we are looking into an incident over the weekend where a young person absconded from the care of social work staff. Fortunately, the young person is safe and well; however, this is something we take very seriously indeed and we are working with all those involved to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

A police spokesman said they were contacted in the early hours of Saturday morning by a woman who had concerns for her son’s welfare. They said: “Police Scotland can confirm that a call was received in the early hours of Saturday, July 22 from a woman in Ayr who had concerns regarding welfare issues about her son who had returned home.

“The matter was resolved by the lady herself making contact with the appropriate Social Work Standby Team.”