Nyla Bradshaw: "No suspicious circumstances," say police amid childminder claims

The severely autistic, non-verbal youngster died in waters at Owston Hall golf course on Monday after being reported missing from the Skellow area.

South Yorkshire Police has now issued an update as investigations continue into the tragedy.

A spokesperson said: “First and foremost, this is a heartbreaking incident and the child’s family remain in our thoughts.

"We know the impact of this news has extended beyond the family and into local and wider communities.

“Our initial enquiries have determined that there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the child’s death.

“We are now acting on behalf of the Coroner and, in line with normal procedure, we will work with City of Doncaster Council and OFSTED to ensure the correct processes are followed.”

It comes after a family friend said little Nyla was in the care of a new childminder recommended on Facebook when the tragedy happened.

The tragedy has seen the community rally behind her grieving parents Hayley Beardsley and Kieran Bradshaw, with a GoFundMe page – which you can donate to here – https://shorturl.at/tSeld – raising nearly £15,000 in a matter of hours.

Hayley’s best friend, Charlotte Emma said: “A lot of us blame ourselves because Hayley doesn’t usually leave her with anybody, she goes to a special school.

“But the school holidays have come up and her mum was desperate for a child minder.

“She’d asked a Facebook group if anybody knew of any in the area, and somebody had recommended this woman.

“Hayley assumed that they were staying in all day with somebody like Nyla, who has got complex needs.

“She’ll say S for yes, and just mumble and stuff, but she doesn’t talk, so if she were to get lost, she wouldn’t even be able to tell an adult who she was, what her name was, or anything.

“The mother feels completely left alone. Everyone is blaming the parents but they were both working hard – she was with a childminder.

“The one thing that her mum explicitly said was, ‘please don’t take my daughter out anywhere.”

Added Charlotte: “Nyla rubbed off on all of us. She made all of us laugh. She was funny and really sweet. She was just different to any child I had ever met. We are all devastated.

“I know when you look at her, you don’t think there’s anything wrong, but Nyla has got absolutely zero danger awareness. She’ll run out of the road and there’ll be oncoming traffic and she won’t even know.

She added: ‘She’ll just run and run and she doesn’t stop running. She loves it.

“She’s an escape artist, she’s a crafty devil. They call these children a flight risk, but if you give her full attention she won’t go anywhere.

“The council even put up a six-foot fence to keep her in her garden and her mum has electronic locks on the house because she kept getting out.”

Meanwhile, angry bosses at a Doncaster autism charity have launched a petition demanding the Government address “systemic failures” and address care for disabled children after the tragedy.

Little Rainbows, which seven year-old Nyla attended, has launched the drive to raise awareness of what bosses describe as “serious concerns about the adequacy, continuity, and safety of care provision for disabled children outside of school settings.”

A spokesperson said: “Once the school day ends, this essential support is no longer provided or funded, creating a significant and dangerous gap in childcare provision, one in which Nyla and her family have paid with her life. This can never happen again.

"Families are routinely forced into impossible situations, balancing work against their child’s safety, and financial survival against appropriate care. In the absence of suitable, funded, and accessible childcare options, parents may have no choice but to rely on care arrangements that are not equipped to meet their child’s needs.

"This is not a reflection of parental decision-making, but the direct result of a system that does not provide safe or viable alternatives. Parents are being forced to bridge a gap that should never exist.

“It is important to recognise that this is not an isolated issue. Families across the country face similar barriers, limited provision, and significant risks as a result of the lack of appropriate, continuous support for disabled children.

“This statement does not seek to attribute blame to any individual, but to highlight systemic failings that create unsafe conditions.

“Without accessible, funded, and suitably trained childcare provision, families are left with no real choices – only risks.

“This must be recognised not as an isolated tragedy, but as a clear indication of systemic failure requiring urgent national attention and reform.

“We call upon the Government to strengthen childcare provision for disabled children, ensuring that appropriate, safe, and funded support is available beyond school hours.

“We want to pass on all our love to Nyla parents and family, and we will do our absolute best to make sure something like this can never happen to another family again.”