Officers charged over leaving eight-year-old boy in police cage

Two police officers have been charged with leaving an eight-year-old boy in the caged rear of a police car for 50 minutes in northern NSW.

The child had been accused of causing malicious damage before being left outside a police station in Coraki, near Lismore, for almost an hour, police say.

The boy's mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, previously told how she left work to search for her son after hearing he had been put in a paddy wagon.

"Whilst I was there, I said 'where's my son'," the mother told the Northern Star at the time.

"The police officer said 'I'll just ring up and check' and walked outside. Walked to front [of the car] and opened the door, then walked to the back and there my son's jumped out of the back of the bull wagon.

"He was all full of sweat, he looked hot, he was shaking, he was crying. I was just all hysterical. I grabbed him and we just couldn't let go of each other. I just felt like I was in a bad dream."

The officers, now on restricted duties, will appear in court in Lismore next month charged with neglecting their duty and leaving a child in a car causing emotional distress.