A NURSERY is being investigated by Ofsted after a two-year-old girl escaped from its premises.

Toddler Ruby-Anne O’Leary managed to slip out of St Bernard’s Nursery in Vivian Road, Oakridge, after outrunning a teacher with asthma, according to parents Kevin O’Leary and Becky Knott. 

The youngster made her way through at least two fire escape doors before heading out of the school and crossing a road, the family claim.

They say she was spotted by resident Tracey Berry, who knows the family and saw Ruby, dressed in painting overalls, and realised she must have got away from a local nursery.

The nursery has confirmed a child managed to escape from the building but insisted she did not leave its grounds.

The incident has left Mr O’Leary and partner Miss Knott, of Normanton Road, Oakridge, furious after they were only told about their daughter’s disappearance when they collected her from school.

“It made me feel sick to be honest,” Mr O’Leary, 27, told The Gazette.

“Anything could have happened to her, she could have been hit by a car or taken by someone - it’s meant to be a safe environment for children.”

He added: “She’s full of life and can run very fast, but the fact that we were told by someone in the school that the teacher who was looking after her had asthma, I couldn’t believe it. They should have tried to get her.”

Ruby, who joined the nursery in September after attending Brighton Hill Pre-School last year, has now been taken out of the nursery.

The parents only found out about Ruby’s experience after Miss Knott went to collect her when the nursery finished for the day at 11.30am on Friday October 7.

Miss Knott, 23, said: “I had a heart attack when I thought about what could have happened to her. It’s shocking that they didn’t tell us straight away because we need to be told about these things.”

She added: “Thankfully Tracey managed to find her and bring her back, but anything could have happened to her. I’m thinking of sending Ruby back to Brighton Hill - it’s safe there.”

Tracey, 44, said she saw a girl “in a vest covered in paint” who was “happily plodding down this busy road in a world of her own”.

Tracey added: “I was shocked she managed to get out, but when I handed her back to the nursery they just took her and shut the front door on me.

They didn’t even close the side fire door she came out of.”

In a letter to parents, the nursery said the incident had been reported to Ofsted.

It said the child was called to stop by a teacher but made their way through an external first door before exiting the building.

It added: “By the time the staff member had located the child she had been seen by a member of the public and passed to another member of staff at another doorway.

“The child had not left the nursery grounds.”

The school refused to comment on the incident when asked by The Gazette due to the ongoing investigation by Ofsted.

Ofsted confirmed it had received information on the nursery, but said it would not comment on individual cases.