Rob Horgan
A MOTHER who left her 12-year-old son home alone, while she went to Spain on holiday, has been found not guilty of child neglect and cruelty.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared by a Crown Court judge today but said she has been left tackling depression.
However her son, now 14, has decided to remain living with a relative who lives 300 miles away from his parents.
He was taken away from his family by social services after his parents visited their Andalucian holiday house and left him at home.
Although he had been left in the care of a ‘long-standing family friend’, the police were called by his school after he revealed he had been ‘home alone’ for two days.
MPs had criticised the decision to prosecute the mother because the current law fails to explain at what age a child can be left on their own.
