A FOUR-year-old Hampshire boy was found wandering the busy streets of Southampton more than a mile away from his primary school playground after walking off during lunch break.

Rajvir Kaur crossed four busy roads and walked down a packed shopping street before he was spotted with a friend, also four, nearly an hour and a half after lunch had started.

Now Portswood Primary School has launched an investigation into its safety procedures to ensure a similar incident never occurs again.

But mum Parmjit Kaur claims the school has told her it is not their responsibility and that the school is not a prison.

"It's every parents worst nightmare," said Mrs Kaur from Highfield, Southampton.

"He should never have been able to wander off like this. We have not been able to sleep just imagining what could have happened.

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"You think that when you drop your children off at school they will be safe and sound until you pick them up. It's their responsibility."

Rajvir had gone to lunch at 12.30pm. Instead of reporting for afternoon registration at 1.30pm on Tuesday he and a friend had wandered off from 440-pupil school's playground.

The pair managed to leave through an unlocked rear gate and walk a mile and a half crossing four busy roads and strolling unchallenged down a hectic shopping street.

They were spotted at 1.55pm by Bernie Merrick the manager of ATS car repairs in Portswood Road, when he saw two heads bob past the window of his car.

Mr Merrick said: "I went out to my car to fetch something and saw two heads bob past the window. I waited for an adult to follow behind but no one came.

"I got out the car and I asked a woman near-by if they were with her but she said 'no' but she did recognise one of them and said they must be from Portswood Primary.

"The kids said they were on their way home to a friend's house. I took them into the reception and phoned the school. They had been frantically searching for them.

"I'm flabbergasted at how two four-year-olds can walk down a busy high street without anybody challenging them. It's very worrying. People are too scared to go up to kids these days."

Mrs Kaur, whose 13-year-old daughter was also a pupil at the primary school, is angry at how it took 40 minutes before she was informed that her son had been missing but was now safe and well.

"My son was gone for more than an hour and I did not know," she said.

"It's a good school and my daughter had no problems so that is why we sent Rajvir there.

"Rajvir loves going to school."

A spokeswoman for the city council, which runs the primary school as the local education authority, said they regretted the incident and are treating it with the "utmost seriousness".

She said: "The school and the LEA will be carrying out their own review to ensure that a similar incident should never occur in the future. The safety of children while they are on school sites is paramount at all times.

"A thorough search of all three school premises was made. Within minutes it was established they were not on site and the head teacher proceeded to phone the parents.

"As the calls were being made it became clear that the children had been found safe and well. Mrs Kaur says she plans to move her son to a different school.