Toddler found wandering streets of Canterbury in sub-zero temperatures
A toddler found in her pyjamas wandering the streets in
sub-zero temperatures was rescued by a passing taxi driver.
Harry Bienkowski, 62, who drives for Cabco, found the young girl
on a footpath in Spring Lane, Canterbury at 6am on
Tuesday.
He was driving to the Neighbourhood Centre to pick up his
partner Pam and her sister Marilyn after their cleaning shift.
He said the distressed girl, who he said must have been either
three or four, was walking down the streets shivering in her
pyjamas clutching a teddy bear.
After driving around the area searching for her parents he
phoned the police, who arrived to collect the youngster and reunite
her with her family.
Harry said: “Normally I pick up my partner and her sister from
the Spring Lane Neighbourhood Centre where they clean in the
morning.
“When I got there they said they had seen a child who was very
distressed. She must have been either three or four.
"Harry doesn’t know it but he’s probably saved that girl’s life or at least saved her from exposure" – Cabco owner Robert Jones
“I told them to stay
with her and I drove round the block expecting to find some
distressed parents but I didn’t see anyone.
“She was walking down the road in her pyjamas, holding a teddy
bear and screaming for mummy.”
Mr Bienkowski said his partner and her sister took the girl to a
shop in Sussex Avenue to keep warm before he contacted police to
report the incident.
He added: “She was very cold. I think she must have been outside
for at least 20 minutes. I don’t know how she managed to get out or
whether there was an open door.
“We were just concerned for the girl. I have children myself and
I can imagine how frantic the parents would have felt when they
know she went missing.
“We don’t know where she has come from or where she has gone but
we heard she has been reunited with her mum and thankfully she is
OK.
Cabco owner Robert Jones praised Harry’s response to the
incident and said the situation could have resulted in tragic
circumstances.
He said: “Harry doesn’t know it but he’s probably saved that
girl’s life or at least saved her from exposure.
“I just wanted to say thank you him and get some recognition for
what he has done.”
16/01/13
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