Parents drugged their toddler to 'get some sleep'

PARENTS drugged their toddler every night so they could "catch up on sleep".

The little girl was routinely given Medised between the ages of two and three and a half – and sometimes the sedative diazepam, Gloucester Crown Court heard.

When social workers realised what the parents had been doing, the girl was put into the care of a relative – and is now "a bright little button" who is doing extremely well, the court was told.

Her drug addict mum, 41, and dad, 40, from the Stroud area, admitted cruelty.

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The mum admitted a similar charge involving diazepam – but denied that she had given it to her deliberately.

Judge Jamie Tabor QC told the couple he would have jailed them both immediately if it had not been for the fact that they are now having supervised access to their daughter every weekend and she loves them.

It might send the little girl "off the rails" if he were to deprive her of those visits, he said.

The mum was given an 18-month jail term suspended for two year and the father a 12-month sentence suspended for the same period. Both were placed under curfew from 8pm to 6am every night for six months.

Kannan Siva, prosecuting, said the little girl was born with feeding problems caused by damage done in the womb as a result of the mother's use of methodone and diazepam.

In a statement, the little girl said: "So many people in my family love me but my mummy and daddy love me best."

Giles Nelson, for the mother, said: "I am afraid they went badly wrong as parents."

For the father, Martin Steen said: "He now recognises he was wrong and is ashamed. He loves his daughter dearly."

Judge Tabor told the couple that with their own drug addiction histories they should have known better and what they had done was "remarkably stupid".