DRUG DEATH MOTHER GIVEN PROBATION

A drug addict mother whose three-year-old son died after drinking her
methadone was put on probation yesterday.

Melainy Lynch, 26, admitted cruelty to her son who was found dead on
the settee next to his crying mother at their home in Dewsbury, west
Yorks. The boy, Isaac, had drunk the methadone which had been
prescribed to his mother who was trying to cure an addiction to
heroin, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Lynch, who was pregnant and clinically depressed at the time, had left
the cap off the bottle and fallen asleep. The Recorder of Leeds, Judge
Brian Walsh QC, told her: "This was a little boy who, despite the
desperately unhappy and unsatisfactory conditions in which you were
living, you brought up well.

"He was healthy and a happy little boy and you clearly did your best
for him. You never caused him harm. It is equally clear that you were
in the depths of despair at the time. I have done something today
which I hope gives you a chance to mend your life."

Lynch replied: "I'll do my best. Thank you."