Dec 31 2008
Where was the mother on Christmas Eve?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/7804828.stm
Arrest over ‘home alone’ sisters
30 December 2008
A 29-year-old woman was arrested for neglect after three sisters under the age of 10 were found at home on their own on Christmas Eve.
The children were discovered at a property in the Gorton area in Greater Manchester.
Police telephone operators collected money for clothes and toys for the girls after being told that they had no Christmas presents.
The woman was later released on bail until 11 February.
Donated money
The gifts were wrapped and delivered to a new address where the children had been placed temporarily.
Pam Wild, 50, a call handler for Greater Manchester Police, said: “I just couldn’t bear the thought of the children waking up on Christmas morning with no presents, so me and some of the girls had a whip-round and got them some gifts.”
Officers also donated money, which was used to buy clothes and toys for the girls.
Mrs Wild added: “It was just something that anybody would have done. I love children and it wasn’t their fault that they didn’t get any presents.”
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It’s wonderful the children finally got something for Christmas through caring listeners of the news story. Of course, it does not mention where the 29 year old mother was (29 and she obviously could not handle one child, let alone three children) during Christmas Eve. Maybe she was out at the local pub. I have nothing against pubs but Christmas Eve should be spent with one’s own children, if one has children - not out carousing with the guys at the local pub, I mean bar, in American English. What if their mother did not get home by Christmas Day? Those poor kids would have been left on their own. No father is mentioned in the story and somehow I am not surprised. I can only hope that 2009 will be a better year for these kids and that their mother learned her lesson not to leave them alone on a major holiday evening.
