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An investigation has begun after a four-year-old boy wandered off from a council-run nursery in Fife.

The child's mother found him walking in the street while on her way to pick him up from Carleton nursery in Glenrothes.

The incident happened at about 15:00 on Thursday after the boy managed to open the security door by climbing up to reach the magnetic release.

The council has apologised to the family for the distress caused and said it had begun a review of procedures.

The authority said the child had only been out of sight of staff for a short time, which was normal as children moved around the nursery.

Safety and security

Jacqueline Price, Fife Council's acting head of service said: "Last week a child managed to open the security door at one of our nurseries by climbing up to reach the magnetic release.

"The child had only been out of staff's sight for a short time, which is normal as children move between the garden and nursery rooms.

"We're very sorry for the distress this has caused the family.

"I'd like to reassure our nursery community that safety and security of our children is our top priority.

"We're reviewing the incident and nursery processes to make sure it cannot happen again.

"While there have been intermittent problems with the spring on the door, this was not a factor in last week's incident.

"Tradesmen have been to the nursery to repair the door but, once again, this is not linked to the unfortunate events of last week."