A Scottish childminder, Amanda Mathewson, has been jailed for two years after more children than legally allowed were found at her home in Dunfermline, Fife, unsupervised.
Sources say Mathewson, 55, was permitted to care for eight children but at one point 27 children were discovered in her care at her home. The children were reported as being under 16, with some younger than 12 months. Coverage also states she tried to conceal additional children by asking parents to text her before collecting them, and that she was identified when parents noticed their children were not with her during the school run on 26 August 2024.
Accounts describe children found in different parts of the house, including some very young children upstairs and some strapped into pushchairs. Some outlets also report that children appeared distressed, and that the front door was not locked when parents returned. Courts are said to have referenced her admissions of wilfully neglecting and abandoning children, with sentencing delivered by Sheriff John MacRitchie.
