A desperate search was launched after a two-year-old was reported missing from nursery

Husna Anjum, Stephen Bark and Husna Anjum

19:39, 29 Jan 2026Updated 20:11, 29 Jan 2026

Maybury Primary School, Edinburgh(Image: Google)

A mum is desperate for answers after her two-year-old son was found in a grit bin at a nursery. Thankfully the tot survived, but the 36-year-old feared the worst when he “wasn’t moving”.

The incident happened at Maybury Primary Early Learning and Childcare Centre on Turnhouse Road in Edinburgh, reports The Mirror. On January 16 the mum came to pick her son up shortly before 12pm but she was told he was lost and that police were informed.

After being missing for around an hour, the toddler was eventually found curled up inside the grit bin. His mum said she was terrified as he was cold and “wasn’t moving”.

She said: “When I opened the box I thought he was dead because he was curled up in the foetal position and wasn’t moving. He was cold, shivering, his skin was pale and his face, mouth and nostrils were covered in grit.

“When I picked him up he was disorientated and just slumped into my arms. And once we were inside he didn’t appear to be his usual self and he was shivering and gulping down water.

“I didn’t know how this could have happened or how long he had been in there or how much salt he had ingested. I don’t understand how nobody noticed that he wasn’t there anymore.”

Grit bins contain a combination of salt and grit, that is sprinkled on roads and pathways to stop the ice from freezing and causing potential accidents.

He was taken to hospital with elevated salt levels and was discharged after further tests. Since the incident the mum has kept the boy at home as she said she had lost trust in the nursery.

The boy was supposed to have been under ‘tag-team supervision’ – a measure where staff inform each other of his movements around the nursery. The mum told the Edinburgh Evening News: “They still haven’t told me what actually happened to my child on that day.

“They described it as an unfortunate incident but that is just completely not acknowledging how serious this situation actually was. After everything that’s happened I just I can’t send him back there.

“No one has actually admitted to what went wrong on that day. I asked to see the CCTV on the day that it happened so I would have more information to give the doctors.

“They said they would check it but I didn’t hear anything back. The next week I was told the CCTV didn’t cover the area where the grit bin was and then a few days after that they told me that the CCTV hadn’t been working that day – it just doesn’t make sense.”

The incident has been reported to the Care Inspectorate, reported the Daily Record. City of Edinburgh Council leader Jane Meagher said: “I was shocked to hear about this awful incident and can only imagine how frightening it must have been for the child’s mother and family. I’m so sorry they had to go through this.

“It’s simply unacceptable that such a young child could be unaccounted for and put at risk, particularly in a place where they should be safe and cared for. I want to reassure the family that the Care Inspectorate were immediately informed, and urgent improvements have already been made at the nursery.

“I am insisting that these are independently reviewed to make sure all lessons have been properly learned and that this can never be allowed to happen again.”

The incident was reported to both Edinburgh Council and the Care Inspectorate. It is understood CCTV is now in operation, extra staff are on duty outside, and the grit bin has been locked.

Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “I was shocked to hear about this awful incident and can only imagine how frightening it must have been for the child’s mother and family. I’m so sorry they had to go through this.

“It’s simply unacceptable that such a young child could be unaccounted for and put at risk, particularly in a place where they should be safe and cared for.

“I want to reassure the family that the Care Inspectorate were immediately informed, and urgent improvements have already been made at the nursery. I am insisting that these are independently reviewed to make sure all lessons have been properly learned and that this can never be allowed to happen again.”

A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: “The Care Inspectorate has been appropriately notified of an incident involving a child at this nursery. A concern has also been raised with us about this service and we will consider all information given to us carefully.

“We will continue to liaise with the service and provider to ensure that the health, wellbeing and safety of children is paramount and will take any further action as required.

“If we uphold a complaint we publish the outcome on our website. Every child in Scotland has the right to good quality, safe care which meets their needs and respects their rights. Anyone with a concern about a service can contact us on 0345 600 9527.”