The Clitheroe Thursday, March 24th, 2005 No. 6,ii92


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A DRUNKEN childminder whose gross negligence caused a baby boy to drown, while in the bath with her,


has been jailed for three years. Wendy Barlow panicked when


Joshua Massey-Hodgkinson, pictured, slipped under the water. As she tried to pull him clear, he banged his head on the bath. Preston Crown Court head that she


had been looking after the 19-month- old child as a favour for his mother who had gone out for the evening. Barlow - a mother-of-three - was


Ofsted registered, but while her child- minding application was being checked out, she admitted binge drinking to a health visitor. Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans, who


yesteday described the sentence as “rather lenient” is demanding an inde­ pendent inquiry into how Ofsted allowed Barlow to be registered as a childminder. Following the sentencing, Joshua’s


grandmother, Cathy Massey, (50), trav­ elled to London to see Children’s Minis­ ter Margaret Hodge to demand more stringent regulations for registered childminders as she launched the fami­ ly’s campaign; “Justice for Joshua” on GMT V yesterday morning. The court heard that four empty wine


bottles were found after the tragedy. Barlow (37), had pleaded guilty to a


charge of manslaughter following the little boy's drowning at her home in Eight Acre Avenue, Sabden in April last year. The court heard she had been reg­ istered as a childminder with Ofsted in June 2003. Her application had been subjected to various checks, one of which revealed she had told a health vis­


itor in January the previous year that she would binge drink. Eegistration was only granted after satisfactory health checks had been made. Mr Michael Shorrock QC (prosecut­


ing) said the boy’s mother, Emma, had employed Barlow from September 2003 to look after him, thus enabling her to return to work. She paid the defendant £100 a week. From time to time, Barlow would


take Joshua overnight so that his mum could have an evening out. I t was an informal arrangement, with Barlow being paid extra at the end of the week. She also had two or three other chil­


dren in her care. On Friday, April 16th, Joshua, who


lived at St Paul’s Terrace, Clitheroe, had been looked after by Barlow. I t was later arranged that she would look after him that night. At 2-30 a.m. the follow­ ing morning, Barlow rang her husband in Spain. Her speech was garbled and she was incoherent and crying uncon­ trollably. When asked, she said she had not rung the emergency services at that stage. Two police officers who went to the


house found her kneeling on the bed­ room floor, crying with her head in her hands and with the baby's body on the bed. She was in a hysterical state. Barlow told police: "He went under


the water. I don't know how long. I did­ n't know he had gone under the water." Blood tests showed she had been


drinking and was calculated to have considerably more alcohol than she claimed to have consumed. Four empty wine bottles were recovered from a bin. Interviewed, Barlow said she had run


a bath and the child had been asleep on the settee. She poured bubble bath in the bath, lit candles and took a glass of wine into the bathroom. She had been in the water 20 minutes


when Joshua entered the bathroom. She put him in the bath with her, sitting him between her legs. She picked him up to turn him around and wash his hair, but he then


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slipped and fell. While she was trying to put him on the side of the bath he ended up banging his head and went underwa­ ter again. "I would never do anything to hurt


him. It was just an accident," she told police. Barlow attempted mouth-to- mouth resuscitation, pumping his chest and slapping him in a bid to bring him round. The cause of death was drowning and


it was not possible from the autopsy to say how long the drowning process had taken. She had no previous convictions. Defence barrister Mr Peter Wright


QC said Barlow had regarded Joshua as one of her family. She did not seek pity or compassion


and recognised the devastation her con­ duct had wrought. Joshua had died as a result of her gross negligence and there had been no criminal intent. "This woman was a caring, responsi­


ble, sensible, reliable and dependable lady when not in drink. Having run a deep bath, she was going to try and relax and have more drink. Joshua, who had been alseep on a sofa, walked dis­ tressed into the bathroom. Mr Wright said: "She ill-advisedly


decided i t would soothe him if she placed him in the bath with her, to try and relax him while he could play." But the little boy slipped and she


frantically tried to remove him from the bath. Realising he had died a t her hands, she went into a state of coniplete


• Grandmother launches ‘Justice for Joshua’ campaign on GMTV - page 2


' Valley MP slams sentence as ‘rather lenient’ and demands Ofsted inquiry — page 28 • ‘I am not a baby killer or some kind of beast’ - Wendy Barlow - page 2.


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and utter confusion and panic. "She has genuine and considerable contrition and remorse. The defendant has never sought to deny her culpability,” he said. "She hoped and prayed that he would


come round, but he didn't. The consequences of that night will


live with her, her family and Joshua's family forever. It is a burden which she will carry forever". Judge Peter Openshaw QC banned Barlow from working with children in the future. He said Johsua's parents had taken


every reasonable step to ensure he was properly looked after. The defendant had looked after him for many months, without giving any cause for concern whatsoever. Barlow had developed a deep and


true affection for the child, thinking of him as one of her family. "Whether the registration process is properly and competently conducted is not for me to say. However, I should point out that the defendant looked after a number of children without any concern whatsoever about her stan­ dards of care," he added. "The defendant should never have


allowed a child into the bath at all when she was too drunk to ensure his safety. "No doubt taking a bath was, it


seems to me, an entirely self-indulgent act where no interests of the child were served by giving him a bath at that time of the night. "Joshua's death was caused by the


grossest negligence, amounting to a high degree of recklessness. "By her drunken condition she creat­


ed a situation of obvious danger, which resulted in the death of this little boy."


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