Kids found alone in school uniforms at 4am while Telford dad was drunk on trampoline
“Whatever happened these two poor children were on their own, simply cut adrift”
Police found two children alone at their Telford home at 4am while their father slept drunkenly on a trampoline in the garden.
The father, in his 30s, was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court after previously pleading guilty to two counts of child cruelty.
Simon Parry, prosecuting, said police had been called to the home at around 4am.
When they arrived at the property they found two children under the age of 11 on their own.
Mr Parry said both were still wearing school uniforms and there were no lights in the home, apart from in the kitchen.
The court was told of the shocking conditions which greeted the officers as the children told them their parents had left “10 minutes earlier”.
Mr Parry said officers considered the house unfit for habitation, and described a strong smell of urine.
There was said to be “little or no food” in the home, with stains from food and dog food.
The court heard that eventually the father of the children reappeared from the garden, and was heavily intoxicated.
In an interview after his arrest he denied child cruelty and said that he had been asleep on the trampoline while the children were there.
The court heard the man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his children, had multiple previous convictions, although they were largely for offences of dishonesty, with no other instances of child neglect.
Dylan Wagg, mitigating on behalf of the defendant, said the man had been on remand in prison for more than 60 days, where he has attended church every week, and had taken courses in maths and English.
He added that the man, who has not worked for a number of years, has used the time to deal with his substance abuse, and now wishes to seek employment on his release.
Sentencing, Judge Deni Mathews said: “Whatever happened these two poor children were on their own, simply cut adrift.”
The judge said that in light of the defendant’s time in custody, a further prison sentence would only see him released immediately due to time served.
Instead he said he would impose a community order for 24 months, with a series of requirements designed to support the man’s rehabilitation.
The order includes 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days, as well as the ‘Building Choices’ programme.