Blink And Two Children Had Disappeared

TWO youngsters aged five and six had quite an adventure when they were sent by their parents to a sports camp in municipality of Zedelgem in Belgium.

For reasons as yet unknown the two children decided to wander off during a break and their absence was not noticed by the organisers of the camp until they received a phone call from one of the children’s mothers saying that they had turned up at a friends house two kilometres away.

Clearly upset, some harsh words took place between the mother and those responsible for the safety and well-being of the children in the camp’s care.

Belgian TV station VTR broke the news and broadcast an interview with a representative of Sportiek which ran the camp.

In the interview, Chris Dedeyne explained “There is a camp for toddlers and another one for primary school children. The toddlers each have a dedicated monitor, the older children have a little more freedom and, for example, are allowed to go alone to the toilet that is a little way away.

“The doors are always open because we presume that the children won’t run off. They are all six already or will have their sixth birthday later this year.”

He went on to say “Then an activity was taking place for all the children from the primary school, which is why we didn’t notice that two children were missing from a group of 60. We didn’t realise until a mother called to tell us that her little boy was outside the front door of one of his friends. The mother came here and was very distraught and she had good reason to be so.”

Although admitting it was in the wrong, the representative of Sportiek observed perhaps rather sardonically “Before if we had done that, we would have been given a good hiding, but the times have change. It is unfortunate that this has happened, but fortunately everything turned out alright.”

A review of security at the camp is taking place although without at least one of the children whose parents decided it was best not to let them return to complete their course.