Mother given criminal record for leaving six-year-old home alone for 45 mins

A mother is fighting to remove a criminal record she was given for leaving her six-year-old alone for 45 minutes.

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by Ellie Hooper |
Published on

The woman, known as Joan, left her young son alone eight years ago while she attended a driving lesson - her last before her test.

She explained that with no one to look after him, and a safe home to stay in, she made the decision to leave her six-year-old for the 45 minute period.

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Stock images used
Stock images used

However, when Joan returned from her lesson, the police were on her doorstep, after a nurse called at the house and found the boy alone.

Joan was then taken to the station and given a warning, which went on her criminal record.

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Since the event eight years ago, she has struggled to pursue her chosen career as a mental health nurse - and is therefore campaigning to have the caution removed.

She explained that the law is unclear when it comes to leaving children at home alone, and doesn't specify at what age this is acceptable.

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The gov.uk website says: ‘Use your judgement on how mature your child is,’ when making this decision, but the NSPCC explains that ‘children under 12 are rarely mature enough to be left alone for a long period of time.’

Do you think she should have left her son alone?

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