A single mum has detailed how she copped verbal abuse from a stranger after leaving her toddler son in the car for “not even one minute”.

Charlene from Elwood told Tom Elliott her son was at work with her all day and was getting distressed because he wanted a drink.

She said she pulled into a service station and was about to pay when a man began yelling at her.

“I just quickly nicked into 7/11, I wound down all four windows half way and locked the doors, and parked right near the front so I could see him, I could see him the whole time,” she said.

“He just started hurling abuse at me, telling me that I shouldn’t have a child and I don’t love him and that he was going to call the police.”

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Charlene said she put a post on Facebook about people being so quick to anger, which was then picked up by the Herald Sun.

She claims the article wasn’t factually correct and has resulted in extreme online backlash.

The article was eventually taken offline.

“While it’s never a good idea to leave a child in a car, the stranger’s response was not appropriate, at all,” Tom said.