PARENTS are leaving children as young as one in a toy shop while they are in town.

Staff at Toytown in Seaford are worried about the welfare of young children who are being left by themselves while their parents are out shopping.

Owner Ginette McGee said one father joked about it being “free childcare” when he picked his two young children up after leaving them in the shop for almost half an hour.

She told The Argus: “That was the incident that prompted us to raise the issue on Facebook.

“It was on Tuesday afternoon and the boys were about six and eight. “The dad came back as we were closing the doors and actually made a comment in jest about it being free childcare.

“The staff were then late closing up as they had been unable to cash up or leave the shop floor as no one was with the boys.”

She said one child, who staff believe is only around a year old as he is not talking yet, is being left in the shop by a woman who stands in High Street.

She added: “It usually happens once or twice a year but we’ve seen it three or four times over the past couple of weeks.

“We are getting concerned because if a child fell over or banged their head, we don’t know who they are or how to contact parents.

“Also if a child decides to walk out the front door, we might not spot them because we’re a huge store because we can’t be by the door all the time.

“Some parents are treating the shop like a holding pen.”

The shop owner said her biggest fear is a parent coming back and asking if staff had seen their child leave.

Toytown, which has a shop in Hailsham and is about to open a branch in Haywards Heath, has different sections.

She added: “The other issue is the kids pick things up and explore the shop while they are waiting for their parents and ultimately throw tantrums and get upset when they have to leave empty handed.

“It’s a horrible situation for the children.”