 | http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/tm_objectid=151
07385&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=drink-driving---at-13-name_page.html
Drink-driving - at 13 Jan 23 2005
A 13-year-old from the Midlands has become the youngest boy in Britain to be
convicted of drink-driving.
Now his adoptive parents, Carol and Matthew Smith, have revealed how teenage
tearaway Adam has put them through hell since going off the rails at the age of
10.
In an exclusive interview, the couple said their lives were being destroyed by
the outof-control behaviour of their ‘dream child’ - with his mum facing
prison because of his truancy.
“We couldn’t have children ourselves, so when Adam arrived as a baby he
made our family complete,” said Carol, from Hednes-ford in Staffordshire.
“Now I can’t believe our dream has turned so sour. We’re prisoners in our
own home because we dare not leave him alone.”
Last week Cannock Youth Court heard how Adam was arrested last December after
driving his father’s saloon car following a boozing session.
He is thought to have been twice the drink-drive limit. And amazingly, he was
already serving a driving ban for previously taking the family car and a van
without consent last year.
Magistrates imposed a 24-month supervision order, a three-month curfew and
dis-qualified him from driving for two years after he admitted taking a vehicle
without consent, aggravated vehicle-taking, drink-driving and driving without a
licence or insurance.
And they warned him he would face jail if he re-offended.
But his father Matthew, who works for a chemical company, said: “This is the
latest in a catalogue of bad behaviour and we just don’t know what to do with
him.
“We’re a respectable family and we have worked hard all our lives to do
well. We are devastated by his actions. He has made our lives hell.”
Speaking at the family’s four-bedroom home, he added: “On the day he took
the car, I was asleep upstairs at about 6pm after finishing work.
“I was due to pick Carol up from work but, next thing I knew, the police were
hammering at the door.
“Adam had driven the car down the road and then back again. He was drunk.”
The 13 year-old was arrested by the police after witnesses saw him driving
erratically and shouting abuse at pedestrians. Three months earlier he had
stolen his dad’s car keys from under his pillow - while he was sleeping.
Again, the teenager was seen driving the car erratically although he had not
been drinking on that occasion.
When he appeared before Stafford magistrates for that offence, they banned him
from driving for 12 months.
Now a drink-drive conviction has been added to his growing list of offences.
Carol, 50 and a senior care assistant at a residential home for the elderly,
said: “I felt sick when I heard he’d been drinking and driving. I’m at my
wits’ end over what to do. It breaks my heart.”
The couple married in 1978 and always wanted children to complete their happy
family.
They tried for 13 years, endured agonising attempts at IVF treatment at the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and spent £5,000 in pursuit of their
baby dream.
After failing to conceive they eventually turned to adoption and were overjoyed
when Adam came to them as an angelic three month-old. “Adam was so adorable -
he was all we ever wanted, “ said Carol.
“Two years later, we adopted Sam so he had a younger brother to make our
family complete.”
The couple watched the boys grow up and gave them a seemingly perfect
childhood.
Adam was a loving youngster who excelled at karate and swimming. He had many
friends and made good progress at school where he was a model pupil.
Three years ago the family went to Disney-world in Florida for the holiday of a
lifetime - but soon afterwards, he began drinking and getting into trouble.
“We had a wonderful holiday but around that time there was a sudden change in
Adam,” said Carol.
“His attitude became really bad, he became withdrawn and started to rebel. He
began going off with older kids of 18 and 19.
Adam wanted to do everything they did, and started to drink and smoke and
swear.
“He wanted to stay out late but we said he had to be home by 8pm - and
that’s when he really started to rebel.
“We locked him in his bedroom but he would climb out of the window.
“Now we don’t want to leave him alone but we feel embarrassed to take him
anywhere in case he shows us up.”
Carol added that the drink-drive case had brought her to the brink of despair.
“When I was sitting in court I almost wanted him to go to prison to teach him
a lesson,” she said. “We’ve had three years of this. But then of course,
I was glad he didn’t. We can’t give up on him.”
The responsible parents, who barely drink themselves, have also taken measures
to ensure that Adam cannot get hold of any booze in the house.
“We don’t give him alcohol,” said Carol. “We used to have a drinks
cabinet in the lounge but it is now empty and we keep beer locked up in the
caravan. We’ve grounded him and told him that this is his last chance. I
would even put him in care for a short while if it would help.
“But I don’t think he’s sorry and his attitude hasn’t changed. But he
says he doesn’t blame us [for his behaviour].”
While Adam has been in constant trouble with the police his brother Sam, now
aged 11, is well-behaved and has caused his parents no problems.
Now Carol is facing prosecution because Adam has refused to go to school for
the last year, despite the pleading of his parents.
She could be jailed or face up to £4,000 in fines when she attends court this
Thursday.
“What can we do?” she sighed. “We can’t hit him or be physical because
we will be prosecuted for abuse. We can’t physically make him go to school. I
just feel so powerless.”
But the couple reject any possible criticism that their children’s behaviour
is their fault.
“I feel like people think I’m a bad mum and it’s all our fault,” said
Carol.
“In some cases I suppose it is the parents’ fault. I used to blame them
myself - but not in this case. It’s the fault of the system.”
She added: “We have tried so hard and keep asking for help with Adam but
no-one is helping us. We even asked for a policeman to take him to school so he
was forced to go but we were advised it wasn’t a good idea.
“But I’m not going to give up on him. He’s made our lives hell for three
years but I hope if he goes back to school he will start to change and
eventually grow up.”
The previous youngest drink-driver in the UK was Jon Smee, 13, who was given
four months detention in Manchester two weeks ago.
And last week it was revealed that a 13 year-old girl was awaiting sentence for
drink-driving on Christmas Day in Wiltshire. She was just 12 at the time of her
arrest.
• All names of the Walker family have been changed for legal reasons.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
|
|
