A mother has been handed a suspended prison sentence after her four-year-old daughter was left scared and in tears on a bus to Pontypridd. Strangers stepped in to comfort the little girl while her mother slept and her father drifted in and out of consciousness.
The woman was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court. The girl’s father, who has also admitted the offence, was refused entry to the courtroom after arriving intoxicated, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The journey
The parents and their daughter had boarded the bus together, heading for Pontypridd. The court heard the father had been drinking alcohol. The mother had taken medication that was not prescribed to her, to help her sleep.
Partway through the trip the mother fell asleep. The father appeared intoxicated, rolling back and forth and slipping in and out of consciousness. Both were “groaning and moaning” loudly, prosecutor Nuhu Gobir told the court.
Mr Gobir said the child appeared “scared” and kept shouting “Mummy, mummy, mummy.” She was “frightened”, asked whether her mother was going to wake up, and burst into tears as her mother began falling into the aisle.
Passengers step in
Other passengers talked to the girl to calm her, while the driver called for an ambulance.
Passengers urged the father to hold on to the mother or put her seatbelt around her. He woke, made a groaning noise and fell asleep again.
The driver and passengers agreed to head straight for Pontypridd bus station, which sits opposite the police station.
Police board the bus
Officers climbed aboard and took the girl to safety before turning to her parents, who were slumped in their seats. It took several attempts to rouse the pair, who kept falling back to sleep.
Mr Gobir said: “They did not appear to know where they were or the movements of their child.”
The father said the couple had “been up all night”. The mother said: “I didn’t get much sleep last night, I’m tired”.
Collapse in custody
The couple were taken to Merthyr Tydfil police station. There the mother collapsed in a holding cell and was taken to Prince Charles Hospital.
She later said she had taken a red and white tablet at around 5.30am that morning to help her sleep, and had suffered a medical episode.
The charge and her record
Both parents pleaded guilty to causing or allowing the assault, neglect, ill treatment or abandonment of a child.
The court heard the mother has 11 convictions for 15 offences. These include:
- public disorder
- criminal damage
- theft
- violence
Mitigation
Speaking on the mother’s behalf, her representative said she had been self-medicating to manage pain that was disturbing her sleep.
The court also heard she had been in a “co-dependent and unhealthy” relationship with the father, which has since broken down.
Sentencing
Passing sentence, Judge Lucy Crowther said:
“Your four-year-old child was extraordinarily upset seeing both of you in that condition and having to be looked after by strangers. She was cold, tired and frightened.”
The mother was given nine months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. She must also complete:
- a mental health treatment requirement
- 12 sessions of a probation requirement
Warrant for the father
The father turned up at Cardiff Crown Court intoxicated for the sentencing hearing and was refused entry to the courtroom. Judge Crowther issued a warrant for his arrest, not backed for bail.
