by A mother who abandoned her four young children to go on a 24-hour drink and drug binge has been sentenced to think about getting a babysitter next time.
Rebecca Stevenson, 22, of Blackburn, left alone her two boys and two girls, aged from three months to four years, in July.
After a week long trial she was sentenced to undertaking a search of local teenagers willing to watch her kids for a fiver next time she goes out to get utterly nutted on cheap cider.
In closing, the Judge Norman Wright told Preston Crown Court, “Look, we’re not killjoys, getting completely shit-faced for 24 hours is a quintessentially British thing to do.”
“Like punching strangers at football matches and dressing up to kill foxes.”
“We’ve had a good laugh about it to be honest, especially after Ms Stevenson told us that great anecdote during evidence about going down on a bloke round the back of the pub after he bought her a flaming sambucca.”
“So rather than punish her, we’re simply asking if she wouldn’t mind possibly looking for a baby sitter next time? If she’s OK with that, of course.”
Criticism
The sentence has been criticised by children’s charities, who pointed out that the children received better care when left to fend for themselves than when under the control of Ms. Stevenson.
Childline spokesperson Shelly James told us, “At the end of the day we want what’s best for the children.”
“And if the choice is leaving a four year old in charge of three babies, or having them follow the example set by a mother more interested in getting off her tits on coke and lambrinis than keeping them alive, then we’ll take a few badly fitted shitty nappies every time.”
“We petitioned the court to let the four children have their own council house, in the hope of a reasonably normal upbringing, but ensuring they continue to live with this booze-addled skank means we’ll no doubt be complaining about their own parenting skills in about ten years time.”
