Police descended on Northumberland Street in a desperate hunt for a missing child - which it turned out to be a hoax.
Officers, cars and a riot van were spotted by shocked shoppers in a search which lasted for over an hour, before investigators confirmed that the report of a lost toddler were false.
Initially, terrified shoppers thought there might have been a bomb scare due to presence of emergency services - and then began to worry about the “missing child”.
Emergency updates were sent to businesses in Eldon Square , telling staff to look out for a 13-month-old girl in a pink top.
But a teenager who had claimed to have become separated from her young sister was found to have never been accompanied by a child.
One mum, who had been in the city centre when the search began and felt compelled to help look, was shocked when she found out the stress had been for nothing.
She said: “I felt physically sick for the little girl and I felt I couldn’t leave until she was found.
“I have just had to explain to my two little girls that some big girl made it all up.
“I’m now feeling annoyed that someone would make up such a story and to waste everybody’s time.
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“Why anyone would lie about it is beyond me - the amount of people who panic thinking such a small child is in danger, only to find out it’s false.”
One shopper said: “I think it is terrible, especially when a child is concerned - what a horrible thing to do.
“When we were in the shop there were loads of police going about.
“The first thing you think is that there’s been a bomb scare.
“The police have better things to be doing with their time.”
Another woman added: “There was a lot of police outside and we were told in the shop that a one-year-old had gone missing.
“It is disgusting someone would do that. It is a waste of police resources.”
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police confirmed: “Police can confirm that they are no longer searching for a missing child in Newcastle.
“At about 2.35pm today (Thursday) police received a report that a one-year-old child had become separated from her teenage sister in Primark on Northumberland Street in Newcastle.
“Police launched an investigation to find the child but it has since emerged that this was a false report and the teenager has never been in the company of a child.
“Members of the public in the area have been thanked for their assistance but officers have now been stood down.”
