Nurses Called Police When Left To “Sit”

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29716, 9 January 1962, Page 9

Nurses Called Police When Left To “Sit”

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, Jan. 8.

A husband and wife who left two children in the care of four Karitane nurses they had invited to their home ostensibly for a film evening had to ring the police to find where the youngsters were when they returned from their Saturday evening out.

The girls found soon after their arrival that the parents had left the children in their care.

On the advice of their hospital the frightened girls then telephoned the police and the police in turn took the children to a neighbour’s home and returned the girls to the hospital. An earlier Press Association message said that the girls remained in the house for the evening.

"On Saturday afternoon a man telephoned the nurses’ home and asked if any girls would like to attend a film evening." said one of the nurses in giving the facts today. “As it is not unusual for people to offer hospitality-to nurses they understand are living away from their homes, we didn’t question the invitation.

“We then spoke to the man's wife, who told us they would call for us at 7 pun. and would have us back fairly early. ‘‘The man was well spoken and quite respectable, and even when we arrived at the house we didn’t suspect anything. "They left us in the living room.. Then the wife came in with her coat on and said there was coffee in the kitchen, that the children were asleep and she didn’t think they would give us much trouble. She hoped we would enjoy ourselves. "We just looked at each other and wondered what we were going to do next We found the telephone and rang the hospital. “We were told to mind the children and, because we were so frightened, to ring the police. <

“When the patrol car came they took the children to the neighbours and drove us home.’’

The parents, when they arrived home and found no baby-sitters and no children rang the hospital, and were advised to contact the police.