Lawyer left baby girl screaming in car for an HOUR while he shopped

Alex Keenan accepted a caution from police after locking the tot in the car

A LAWYER who left his one-year-old daughter screaming in a locked car while he shopped has been cautioned by police. Alex Keenan, 30, left the toddler on her own for an hour while he went into a Tesco store with his son, three.

The toddler was left 'screaming' outside a Tesco store

A passer-by heard the girl "screaming her head off" in the car and alerted cops, who arrested Keenan on suspicion of child neglect. The tax solicitor accepted a caution under the Children and Young Persons act but was not formally charged.

Keenan, of New Leake, Lincs, revealed his employers are aware of the incident but refused to comment further.

 His wife Kate called it "a bit disproportionate". But local Eve Herdman, mum of a 13-month-old, told The Mirror: "Anybody could have broken into the car and something awful could have happened."


CCTV outside the store in Skegness showed Keenan left his car for an hour, according to police. Kate was called to the scene to take the kids while cops questioned her husband at a nearby station.

A police spokeswoman said: "We were notified by a member of the public who said the child was screaming her head off in the car. As officers arrived the father was coming back so they didn't need to force entry."
Tesco is helping the police with their investigations.

The law does not specify an age when it is safe to leave kids alone in a car or at home, but it is an offence if the child is put at risk. The NSPCC warns parents not to leave babies or toddlers on their own, but a September survey revealed a quarter of parents leave kids in cars for 22 minutes on average to run an errand.

The children's charity said: "A car may seem secure but it's very easy for a young child to get tangled in seat restraints, become unwell, or for someone to steal the vehicle or abduct them from it."