A thief stole a car with a baby still in the rear seat before returning a few minutes later with the child.
According to the local paper, the baby's mother had left three children in her unlocked Renault Scenic while she made a delivery in Tiverton in Devon at noon on Saturday.
Her daughter stood outside the vehicle and the woman's five-year-old nephew and 14-month-old son remained in the back.
But as they waited for the mother to return, a thief opened the rear door of the car and pulled the nephew out.
The man, in his 40s, then drove the vehicle through a series of one-way streets before returning to the original location. He removed the child seat with the boy and dumped it on the pavement - telling passers-by that someone had abandoned a baby.
The suspect jumped back into the car and drove off and the baby was reunited with his mum.
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said the vehicle had not been found.