2:41pm Tuesday 13th May 2008
A DRUNKEN father who abandoned his baby daughter in a sweet shop has been rapped by magistrates.
Shaun Marshall was three times over the legal limit to drive when he forgot about his six-month-old daughter, leaving her strapped into her pushchair by the shop door.
The 27-year-old, who had drunk "a skinful" the previous night, drove off with his other two young children before realising his mistake.
Marshall, of Rogerson Terrace, Westerhope, Newcastle, admitted drink driving and being drunk in charge of children.
He was warned by North Tyneside Magistrates Court that it was only by good luck a tragedy did not happen.
Prosecuting, Mark Brennan said that at about 5.30pm on February 17, staff at The Candy Man sweet shop on Victoria Crescent, Cullercoats, called the police to report that a man had abandoned a baby.
CCTV footage showed Marshall leaving the shop with his two toddlers, but abandoning his six-month-old in her pushchair by the door.
He then drove off in his Mercedes Benz.
When he returned ten minutes later, police were waiting and he was breathalysed and arrested.
A blood alcohol test showed he had 240mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, when the legal limit is 80mg.
"He told police he was tired and confused and had not realised hed left the six-month behind," Mr Brennan said.
"He accepts he was over the limit and accepts the stupidity of driving the vehicle with his young children in the car and that he was putting their lives at risk."
Defending, John Monkhouse said Marshall was so shocked by what he had done, he had stopped drinking and begun attending Alcoholics Anonymous.
"Sometimes it takes a tragedy before a situation will strike home to somebody. Fortunately, this time a tragedy was averted and nothing too serious happened," he said.
"The children were not injured, they could have been. They were not harmed, they could have been.
It struck home to the defendant as soon as the police arrived."
Mr Monkhouse said Marshall, who has been unemployed since losing his job as a driver following his arrest, had been looking after the children since morning and had not had a drink all day.
But he had been out the previous afternoon, evening and night and had consumed what must have been "a phenomenal amount of alcohol to be still three times over the limit by 5pm the next day," he said.
"He had drunk a skinful. He has had to face up to the fact that if he was not already a full blown alcoholic he was particularly close to it," he said.
Chairman of the bench George Mitchell imposed a two-year driving ban, and ordered Marshall to complete nine months supervision by the probation services and to pay £60 costs.
"What happened that day was horrendous," Mr Mitchell said.
"The worst thing for us as magistrates is to have in front of us someone of previous good character and to see that good character gone out of the window.
"After that, this was a mess and I am glad you recognise that.
"If you were three times over the limit when you gave that blood sample then at some stage during the night you must have been close to death.
"To be four times over the limit is to be heading towards the breakdown of your bodily functions.
"At some stage of the night you really must have been in a terrible state.
"If this does not bring you up short then nothing will."
Marshall, who was shaven-headed and was wearing a striped jumper, spoke only to answer his name and was accompanied to court by his father.
He declined to comment following the hearing.
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