Crawling baby put stop to police chase in Darwen

3:00pm Thursday 22nd May 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A POLICE officer pursuing a woman suspected of possessing crack cocaine had to give up the chase when a baby began crawling out of the house unattended.

Blackburn magistrates heard it was then 10 months before Samantha Jean Walsh was brought to justice, by which time she was on a court-imposed drug rehabilitation order.

And the court gave Walsh a conditional discharge after hearing glowing reports about her progress under the order.

Walsh, 35, of Newton Street, Darwen, pleaded guilty to possessing a wrap of crack cocaine.

She was given a conditional discharge for 24 months and ordered to pay £60 costs.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said police had gone to an address in Nancy Street wanting to speak to someone else.

"As she ran out of the front door the defendant was seen to drop a plastic wrap on the floor," said Miss Allan.

"An officer went to detain her, but had to stop to prevent the child crawling out onto the street."

Basharat Ditta, defending, said getting away from drug addiction, and the "clutches" of the people who dealt, was very difficult.