A tow truck driver got the shock of his life when he realised a sleeping toddler was inside a four-wheel-drive he'd towed from a Melbourne clearway.
The child, 3, was left alone, sleeping under blankets in the car with heavily tinted windows in Sydney Road, Brunswick during peak-hour last Wednesday afternoon.
Victoria police spokeswoman Lee Thomson said the worried parents reported their car stolen but soon learned from police it had been towed.
Nationwide Towing operations manager Mark Beveridge says their driver didn't see the child in the back seat despite a check to see no one was inside.
"The driver was quite distraught, he couldn't believe someone would leave their child asleep in the car unattended - he's got children himself and was quite upset by the whole idea," Mr Beveridge told AAP on Wednesday.
"We've been doing this for 20 years and this is the first time anything like this has happened."
The driver was in Ascot Vale by the time he learned about his passenger but still couldn't see the child inside so he flagged down police to help him.
The toddler only woke when police opened the car door.
Police say they are no longer investigating the matter.
