A MUM was left worried after spotting a child not moving at the side of the road outside her home – only to realise she was actually looking at a bag of rubbish.
Zila Golbert was in stitches after realising she had been tricked by the optical illusion in Edgware, North London, yesterday.
The 49-year-old office manager spotted the “child” on the street as she was getting her daughter and friends into the car to head out.
She became increasingly concerned after noticing that he wasn’t moving.
However, after looking closely she realised the suspected little boy was actually just a bag of polystyrene inside a cardboard box and black bag.
Zila captured images showing how the figure appeared to be a person wearing a white top with black sleeves, cargo trousers and white shoes.
An up-close image shows the taped up black and white bin bag lying in front of a circular piece of red brick which appeared to be the boy’s face.
Zila posted about the hilarious incident on social media yesterday, writing: “I was sure I was going mad this morning when a kid across the road didn’t move.”
She later shared it in a parenting group where it has attracted over 4,900 likes and hundreds of comments from amused group members.
One said: “It took me about an hour of looking back and forward through each photo to figure that out, good job I’m not working today, brilliant photo trickery.”
Another wrote: “I was just about to say oh god I hope he was ok.”
A third commented: “Should have gone to Specsavers.”
A fourth added: “This has made me laugh, the first pic does look like a kid I can’t unsee it now.”
While one person said: “What a great illusion.”
Speaking today, Zila said: “It happened yesterday morning just as I was getting kids into the car.
“That’s when I spotted the ‘child’.
“It took a while to sort everyone out and I looked again and he hadn’t moved.
“I figured something was off but I pointed ‘him’ out to the kids who agreed with me that it looked so real.
“I realised something was up so I went across the road and discovered it was a cardboard board.
“So I took a few photos and was surprised they came out so well compared to what we had seen.
“I just thought it was funny how realistic it was and I was pleased that the kids confirmed I wasn’t going mad thinking it was a real child.”
