Woman leaves 11-year-old son at Chelsea, Que. restaurant to visit spa, police say

An MRC des Collines de l'Outaouais police cruiser. (Supplied)

Police in western Quebec say a mother from Montreal left her 11-year-old son alone at a Chelsea, Que. restaurant for several hours last weekend while she went to the spa.

The MRC des Collines-de-l'Outaouais police received a call from a concerned restaurant manager Sunday afternoon about a child left alone at the establishment.

Police say the woman arrived at the restaurant at approximately 4:30 p.m., ordered a meal for her son and told the staff she had a few errands to run and would be back in about 45 minutes.

"It was only at about 7 p.m. and concerned that the woman had not returned that the call was made to the police department," police said in a statement.

Police say after several unsuccessful attempts to reach the mother, an officer was able to get a hold of her around 7:30 p.m.

"It is at this moment that the lady informs our personnel that she will be on the spot in a few minutes only because she is still at the SPA," police said.

"Fortunately for the child, he was in good hands and didn't seem to mind too much."

Police say the 38-year-old mother from Montreal did not seem to understand the reason police were called, and "minimized the fact her 11-year-old child had been left alone in a restaurant for almost three hours."

Police did not specify which spa the woman attended. They said a report has been filed to the Montreal DPJ, the social services agency.