She was scared of her abusive ex
A desperate mother who tried to kill her two-year-old son during lockdown has been jailed for four years.
The mum also attempted suicide herself because of fears the boy’s father would resume contact when lockdown came to an end, a court was told.
Lincoln Crown Court heard the woman devised a method to kill both herself and the toddler at their south Lincolnshire home.
But the mother, who can not be named for legal reasons, suddenly changed her mind after half an hour and instead rang for help.
She and her son were then driven to Peterborough City Hospital, and on the journey she dialled 999.
Sarah Knight, prosecuting, told the court: “At the hospital the defendant told the nurses what she had done.
“She said she had taken the boy with her because when she died there would be no-one to look after him.
“She said she wanted to kill herself as she was scared and worried about the boy’s dad. She said that when the boy started to cry she couldn’t go on with it.
“She was calm and collected and showed little sign of emotion.”
Miss Knight said that the boy was treated at hospital but was found to have no ill-effects from what happened.
The mother admitted a charge of attempted murder as a result of the incident on May 7 this year.
Judge Simon Hirst, passing sentence, told the woman: “You reported the relationship with the boy’s father as being deeply unpleasant with him being very controlling.
“At the end of the relationship you lived in a refuge for a time.
“This was against a background of domestic violence perpetrated by the boy’s father towards you.”
John McNally, in mitigation, said the woman was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2019.
He told the court: “Her relationship with the father was an altogether unhappy relationship. There were threats of violence, harassment and sexual violence.
“Before lockdown the father was spending supervised time with the boy.
“That ended with lockdown. But in May 2020 she believed that as lockdown eased the time the father spent with the boy would resume.”
He said the woman had taken responsibility for what she did and has since shown remorse.
A dramatic video shows a car engulfed in flames in the car park at Lincoln County Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
An on-call crew from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue attended the scene on Greetwell Road shortly before 5pm on Tuesday, April 13.
The crew used one hose reel to extinguish the fire and fortunately no casualties were reported.
The car is probably a write-off. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Dramatic pictures from the scene show the severe damage that was caused to the front of the car.
Fall in county infections but a Boston spike
There have been 50 new coronavirus cases and three COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday — compared to 58 cases and no deaths this time last week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 26 new cases in Lincolnshire, 19 in North Lincolnshire and five in North East Lincolnshire.
On Tuesday, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, none in North East Lincolnshire and -1 in North Lincolnshire. Fluctuations in data are usually due to some deaths in those areas being reallocated to other regions across the UK or a miscount. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England has reported two new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust hospitals.
On Tuesday, national cases increased by 2,472 to 4,375,814, while deaths rose by 23 to 127,123.
In local news, people aged over 45 can now book their COVID vaccinations on the NHS website after the government reached its target of offering a first dose to the nine most vulnerable groups.
There were recently some technical difficulties for people accessing the NHS website, but vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the issues have been fixed – book a vaccine online here and find out if you are eligible.
Over the weekend, Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate has fallen, with a spike in Boston only.
Similarly, the England average has also seen a drop in infections, but still remains nearly half Greater Lincolnshire’s rates.
Lincoln has dropped by more than half over the weekend and now has one of the smallest rates in the UK, with just 9.1 per 100,000 of the population infected with COVID-19.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s COVID-19 infection rates up to April 12:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 5 to Apr 12. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
In national news, Boris Johnson has warned that the reduction in coronavirus infections, hospitalisations and deaths “has not been achieved” by the rollout of COVID vaccines.
The prime minister, speaking the day after the latest easing of lockdown restrictions, instead said it was the national shutdown that had been “overwhelmingly important” in driving down COVID rates.
England is giving out its first doses of the Moderna jab, the third COVID-19 vaccine in the nation’s rollout.
It will be available at 21 sites, included the Madejski Stadium in Reading and the Sheffield Arena.
Along with the Pfizer jab, it offers an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for under-30s, after concerns about a possible link to very rare blood clots.
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,772 cases (up 50)
2,184 deaths (up three)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (up two)
4,375,814 UK cases, 127,123 deaths
There will be another Kill The Bill protest in Lincoln next week, rallying against a new government bill that diminishes protesting rights.
Protests have been rife across the country since the government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was first discussed, with scenes turning violent in Bristol.
Over two hundred people peacefully took part in the city’s first march at Speakers’ Corner on April 3, including Extinction Rebellion activists and Socialist and Labour supporters.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Now, after a post started doing the rounds on social media, another protest has apparently been scheduled for 2pm on Monday, April 17 at the same location on Lincoln High Street, as part of a national day of action.
A poster promoting a second event has been shared across social media platforms.
Protests are lawful once again after the government eased lockdown restrictions on March 29, but organisers are required to submit a risk assessment prior to any event.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Organisers of the last protest were in close communication with police to make the event safe, and The Lincolnite has asked Lincolnshire Police if they have been made aware of another protest, but are yet to receive a reply.
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