Children being left home alone in Wales has led to a 20 per cent surge in referrals the NSPCC has reported.

Last year, the NSPCC’s Helpline made 195 referrals to local agencies or services in Wales where concerns about unsupervised children was mentioned.

This figure, from April 2023 to March 2024, shows a significant rise from the previous year's count of 163 referrals.

The helpline, a support service for adults concerned about a child's well-being, had 7,802 contacts related to the subject across the UK.

Several reasons could be behind this increase, such as a recent NSPCC marketing campaign, increased service capacity, and better public awareness of the dangers of leaving children alone at home.

Remarkably, more than half of these contacts on children being left unsupervised were deemed serious enough for the NSPCC Helpline to refer them to local agencies with a view to further action.

Kam Thandi, head of the NSPCC’s Helpline, added: "It is vital that both the child and adult feel comfortable with any decision that is taken, and that if a young person is to be left home alone they know how to contact a trusted adult and what to do in an emergency."

Addressing concerns that the ongoing cost-of-living crisis could see more children left unsupervised, the NSPCC is signposting parents and carers to advice on its website throughout the summer holiday.

The economic squeeze could potentially force some parents and carers to work increased hours or take on part-time jobs.

One particular case reported to the Helpline underscored the magnitude of the issue.

An adult raised concerns about a neighbour, stating: "It’s two little girls I’m worried about, they must be about 4 and 6; they’re left home alone quite a lot and that means they’re unsupervised with the family’s dogs.

"I’ve knocked a few times to see if they’re ok and they always say, ‘daddy will be back soon’ but it’s usually hours later when one of the parents comes back."

Despite there being no legal age limit for leaving children home alone, the NSPCC does not recommend leaving any child under the age of 12 unsupervised, especially for prolonged periods.