Toddler escapes from nursery by scaling 7ft spiked fence

A toddler scaled a 7ft spiked metal fence to escape from his nursery school. Ashton Addison, three, was found by a dog walker after his great getaway. The distressed boy, who had cut his left hand, hadn’t gone far and the woman swiftly returned him to Drakies Nursery in Inverness. Ashton’s mother has spoken of her relief that her son was unharmed.



Lisa Mackenzie, 23, of Inshes, said: “I’m just so grateful he’s in one piece. I’m also so relieved that a kind, caring person picked him up and took him back to the school. It could have been so much worse, even just thinking about the fence itself. I still can’t believe he managed to climb it but he is a really clever little boy.”

Lisa said she was concerned that staff didn’t realise Ashton had gone AWOL – because a head count went wrong. She was also unhappy that she wasn’t told about the incident until she arrived to pick him up at 2.45pm on Monday. Ashton escaped at about 2pm and was found within 10 minutes. Lisa said staff apologised for not immediately phoning her to tell her what had happened.



She said: “I think they were just so shocked that he managed to escape in the first place.” Ashton has been kept off nursery since the incident. Lisa said: “I’m in talks with the school about whether he will go back at the moment. But if he does, the school say an extra eye will be kept on Ashton.” Highland Council said the school had taken “immediate action to ensure additional safeguards to those that are already in place”.