‘Freezing’ boy, 2, found in tears and ‘completely alone’ on street as man and woman arrested

A man and woman have been released on bail after they were arrested for child cruelty following the discovery of a two-year-old boy wandering alone on a freezing Essex street.

Basildon resident Claire Graves shared the terrifying moment when the boy ran out into the road in Ballards Walk as she was driving by on Tuesday (December 21).

The 35-year-old said the boy, dressed in a onesie was completely alone and "freezing".

She attempted to find his parents for nearly half an hour to no avail before calling the police.

The mother-of-two said: "I was driving along Ballards Walk by the surgery, out of nowhere this tiny little boy starts running from the opposite side of the road.

"I jumped out of the car, while it was still moving, grabbed him and pulled him out of the way of incoming traffic.

"I tried to console him, he was screaming out and freezing cold.

"He was beside himself, very scared, I was trying to comfort him and tried to find his mum.”

Ms Graves said she's relieved that the boy is now safe, but has been left shaken by the incident.

She added: "It's three days before Christmas, it breaks my heart that stuff like this really happens.

"I was very shocked, I was worried for him.”

A spokesman for Essex Police told Yahoo News UK that a 39-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman have been released on bail until 10 January following their arrest.

They added: ”We were called at around 9.47am on Tuesday, 21 December to an incident in Basildon.

"A member of the public discovered an unaccompanied young child, aged two, at Gladwyns.

"The child was uninjured and enquiries established who the child was. He is now in the care of a partner organisation.

"Specialist officers from Public Protection Unit are leading the investigation.

"A 39-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman have been arrested on suspicion of child cruelty (neglect).”

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