Jail for dad who left toddlers in car outside pub

Boys aged two and one locked in Nissan as he was sat at the bar

A DAD who left his two toddlers locked in a car on a scorching summers day while he went to the pub has been jailed.

Samuel Thomas Marsland, 25, of Romiley, was found sat at the bar by police and when challenged tried to blame his own mother and ran away.

Officers had been called by a concerned member of the public who had seen the young boys, aged two and one, left inside a Nissan Duke on Francis Street.

Marsland, of Wakefield Crescent, appeared at Stockport Magistrates Court on Thursday and was sentenced to sixteen weeks’ jail.

ADAD who left his two toddlers locked in a car on a scorching summers day while he went to the pub has been jailed.

Samuel Thomas Marsland, 25, of Romiley, was found sat at the bar by police and when challenged tried to blame his own mother and ran away.

Officers had been called by a concerned member of the public who had seen the young boys, aged two and one, left inside a Nissan Duke on Francis Street.

Marsland, of Wakefield Crescent, appeared at Stockport Magistrates Court on Thursday and was sentenced to sixteen weeks’ jail. He had pleaded guilty to two counts of child neglect at a previous hearing.

He also admitted driving while disqualified, taking a vehicle without consent and driving without insurance.

The offences happened on August 23 last year, a sunny day when the temperature was 26 degrees.

Although a car window had been left slightly open the children inside were visibly sweating.

Police had gone into the Nelson pub and asked who was the owner of the Nissan and Marsland claimed the car belonged to his mother who had gone to a nearby flat.

He then said he would go and find her and ran off, but left the keys to the car on the bar.

When officers remained by the car he returned and admitted he had been driving it, even though it belonged to his girlfriend and she had not given him permission.

Marsland also confirmed the two children inside were his.

An NSPCC spokesman said: “When left alone in a vehicle, young children can very quickly start to get anxious and distressed and there are clear added dangers when temperatures are extremely hot – as a parent, Marsland should have put the welfare of his children first.

“We always advise parents and carers never to leave babies, toddlers and very young children alone – whether in a vehicle or at home.

Part of the jail sentence was a previously suspended one imposed in 2015 by South and East Cheshire magistrates.

This had been for the offences of drink driving and driving while disqualified.

Marsland was also give a driving ban of three further years.

Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111 and adults with concerns about a child can contact the NSPCC in confidence on 0800 808 5000.