Parents of children found wandering on motorway avoid jail

Pair admitted cruelty charges after two-year old girl and four-year old boy were rescued crossing A38 in Birmingham A couple whose two young children were found wandering on a busy dual carriageway in Birmingham during the morning rush hour have been spared jail. The two-year-old girl and four-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were found trying to cross the A38 in the city earlier this year. The older child was barefoot and the younger one’s clothes were dirty. The children’s parents – who are in their 20s – were sentenced after they admitted child cruelty charges. Birmingham crown court heard that CCTV showed a driver – Linda Young – pulling over and rushing to move the children to safety. Police later visited the children’s maternal grandmother’s flat, where they had been staying for the night. Their parents were asleep there and had not realised the children were missing. The parents pleaded guilty to two counts of child cruelty at Birmingham crown court at an earlier hearing. Madhu Rai, prosecuting, told the court the boy had bare feet while his sister was dressed in an all-in-one pink suit. When officers searched the children’s bedroom at the flat they found a knife, half-eaten food and a bag containing raw meat on a bed, along with a bottle of liquid paracetamol. “In the living room, they found carrier bags with empty butane gas canisters and loose cans,” said Rai. The father was given an 18-week sentence suspended for 12 months while the mother was given an 18-month community order. Judge Elizabeth Fisher told the parents: “By the grace of God a member of the public stopped her own car. “Certainly CCTV footage in the area shows exactly the risk in which the children were placed. “When the police first came to the address, you were both still asleep.” The court heard how the children tried to cross the A38 shortly before 9am on 27 March and were close to cars. Young said she stopped after she’d been struck by how young the children were and by the fact that there was no adult with them. When questioned by police, the couple admitted they had no idea the youngsters had left the property. They assumed they were in another bedroom. The children’s mother told police she had put her son and daughter to bed and assumed that was where they were as she lay with her partner in another room. She was adamant she knew nothing about the presence of the knife, the paracetamol or the raw meat. There was no suggestion that the couple had been drunk or abusing drugs. The children’s father is said to have admitted that he had previously abused aerosol sprays but insisted he had never done so in front of the children. Joseph Keating, in mitigation for the father, said he was remorseful and making significant attempts to address his addictions. Sophie Murray, mitigating for the 24-year-old mother, said she loved her children and suffered from low esteem and low self-confidence. The children’s paternal grandmother said they were now under the care of social services. “My son’s agreed that he won’t see the children until after he’s completed a drug programme he’s on,” she said, adding that he loved his children. Claude Knights, director of the Kidscape charity, said: “This is a very disturbing case which could so easily have ended in tragedy.” Birmingham Crime Children Helen Carter guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 23, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.