WENDY Barlow became a registered childminder in 2003. By June 2004 she was at the centre of an investigation into the death of one of the children in her care.

And she fully expects to spend June 2005 behind bars, having pleaded guilty to manslaughter and being "fully aware" that a custodial sentence is likely.

Files from Ofsted, the Government body which registers, scrutinises and governs childminders, show that she became an approved childminder in June 2003.

That was a year after she first moved to the Ribble Valley village of Sabden, from Accrington, with her husband Paul and three children. She became a well-known face in the village and in Clitheroe.

Their £90,000 semi-detached home in Eightacre Avenue was to be the base for Wendy's childminding business and, after checks by Ofsted, she was granted permission to look after up to five children.

Other parents who used Barlow to look after their children described her as an excellent childminder and they were among those interviewed by police in the weeks following Josh's death.

Emma Massey visited Barlow's home after she was recommended by another childminder unable to take in Josh.

Emma said: "We checked with Ofsted she was registered and then we went out to see her and were really happy with how things went. Josh was always happy going there and we never had any cause for concern.

If we had, he'd have been out of there straight away but everything seemed fine and we were really pleased with how things were working out."

Barlow, before living in Accrington, is understood to have come from the Midlands. Several people in the village immediately commented on her accent when asked about her but said that she seemed perfectly normal and was often chatty.

At the time of Josh's death, Barlow's husband worked in Spain and was away from the family home for long period.

He returned home as soon as he heard about the incident and has remained there since.