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26th Nov 2022

Boy abandoned by parents on motorway had to walk a mile for help

Steve Hopkins

‘Imagine having to walk a mile at night, on the darkest stretch of that motorway’

A teenager has been rescued after he was left stranded on the side of a motorway in Cambridgeshire by his parents.

The 17-year-old boy had been abandoned by his family on the M11 in an incident Cambridgeshire Constabulary has chosen to speak out about.

The boy was forced to walk a mile in the pitch darkness to reach an emergency SOS phone to call for help.

Police came to his rescue and ensured he was placed in a safe home following the traumatic incident.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary raised awareness of the incident on Facebook, writing: “Imagine you are 17 years old. Imagine being left by your parents at the side of a motorway near a city you’re not familiar with.

“Imagine having to walk a mile at night, on the darkest stretch of that motorway, to the emergency SOS phone to get some help.

“That was the reality for one boy recently on the M11. He wasn’t from Cambridgeshire and had no links to here, but he needed our help and we did exactly that.”

The post went on to say that the force’s Child Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit had “temporarily placed in police protection and is in a safer environment while investigations continue into where he will now be happiest”.

The force urged anyone with concerns about a child and their welfare to get in touch with their local police force,

Anyone with concerns about a child has been urged to get in touch with their local police force, as information could save a life.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary added that all reports can be made in confidence and be done anonymously.

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