A 31-year-old mother of four has been jailed on charges of child neglect after her 2-year-old son got drowned while she was busy on Facebook.
Deceased Joshua Barnett, was playing in their family garden in Beverley, East Yorkshire, last March when he fell into a pond while his mum, Claire Barnett, was busy with her phone inside her house.
The woman attempted to save her son when she got to know what had happened but her efforts was rather too late as the toddler passed away already.
A judge at Hull Crown Court criticised Barnett for her ‘bad parenting’, and was told she would pose ‘very serious risks’ to any child she had responsibility for.
During an interrogation, the police, realised that Barnett who now lives in Nottingham had also allowed her late son and another young child play outside unsupervised by the road.
According to a report by Metro UK, Barnett’s neighbours called social services after the two children were almost hit by a car.
Barnett pleaded guilty to four counts of child cruelty preferred against her in the court.
Judge Jeremy Richardson told her: “Your son died due to your neglectful conduct. You will have to live with that for the remainder of your life. For a parent to behave as you did, repeatedly, amounts to consistently bad parenting.
“I trust that you will never be allowed to have further unsupervised contact to any child. If you should have any further children, they will almost certainly be removed from you.
“You pose very serious risks to any child for whom you might have responsibility.”
