Shopping mom left baby in car with note

PORIRUA, New Zealand, March 25 (UPI) -- Shoppers at a New Zealand store said they were shocked to see a baby left alone in a car with a note and phone number from the mother.

A man who asked not to be named told The New Zealand Herald he arrived with his family at the Pak'n'Save in Porirua around 9 a.m. Saturday and he spotted a baby alone in a neighboring car.

The man said there was a note with the baby.

"It was written from the baby's perspective, and it said, 'My mum's in doing the shopping, call her if I need anything', and it had the cellphone number," the man said. "We waited there for a little bit, wondering if the mum was just going to be two seconds and come back. And my wife said, 'I'm not going in without someone being here with the baby.'"

The couple said they went inside when another pair of customers agreed to stand vigil until the mother emerged. The newly arrived couple called the cellphone number on the note and asked the mother to come out.

"We had gone in [to the Pak'nSave] before the mother had come out because we had a baby ourselves that was in a hurry," he said.

The man said the child appeared to be well cared for.

"As parents ourselves we know it is hard to get a baby to sleep, and once you start moving them they can wake up... we thought it was just a silly decision by a tired mother," he said.