Man jailed after leaving children in Workington's Tesco car park

The children were left in a damaged van in the Tesco car park at Workington

A drunk who stole alcohol after leaving two children in a van in a supermarket car park has been jailed for 20 months.

The man, who is from Cumbria but cannot be identified, had taken the vehicle without permission and drove off after putting his partner's daughters inside.

During a three-mile (4.8km) journey to the Tesco store in Workington, the van shed a tyre and plastic wheel arch.

Carlisle Crown Court heard he later admitted driving while disqualified, theft and child cruelty.

He also pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, resisting a police constable and failing to provide a breath specimen.

A member of the public reported the man after the saw the children had been left in the vehicle.

'Van unlocked'

As officers arrived, the man - who cannot be named to protect the youngsters' identity - was inside the supermarket filling a trolley with three cases of lager, one of cider and a bunch of flowers.

Slurring his words and stumbling, he left without paying.

"It was plain to the officer that the children had been in the front of the vehicle, which was clearly in a dangerous condition with no suitable child restraints or child seats for the pair," prosecutor Tim Evans told the court.

He added the van was "unlocked so that at any point the children could have left and gone wandering unsupervised".

The man provided a positive preliminary alcohol breath test and a drug wipe indicated the presence of cocaine and cannabis.

Judge Nicholas Barker accepted remorse contained within a letter in which the man expressed a wish to mend his ways.

But, passing the prison sentence, Judge Barker said the man had "absolutely" and "deliberately" disregarded the children's safety.

He must serve a three-year driving ban when released from custody.