Dad high on ketamine abandons son, 6, and tells police ‘it’s your problem now’

A drugged up dad has lost custody of his six-year-old son after leaving him home alone while he was high on ketamine.

Neighbours in a village near Swaffham, Norfolk, grew concerned after seeing a man leave his home with friends on April 18 last year, knowing the young boy was alone inside.

He returned by himself 20 minutes later, shouting at someone over the phone, before heading inside and locking the door.

Some time later, one of the friends came back and lost his temper as he could not get inside.

He too started shouting, picked up some toys and hurled them at the window.

When a neighbour came out, the friend told them that the dad, the sole carer for the boy, who was five at the time, was ‘keyed up’, which they understood to mean he was under the influence of ketamine.

Police arrived to see the father standing outside his house with glazed eyes and white powder around his right nostril.

He was arrested and taken into custody, and a small amount of the Class B drug was found during a search.

When officers asked the dad if there was anyone else available to look after his child, he responded: ‘I don’t know, it’s your problem now.’

The man pleaded guilty to abandoning a child as well as possession of a Class B drug at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on January 15, and the case was adjourned to allow a pre-sentence report to be carried out.

In mitigation, solicitor Kate D’Aloia said that the defendant had been sober for 200 days after the incident. However, he had relapsed due to the stress of court proceedings.

She added that he had cut down on drinking to around eight beers over a weekend, and no longer has custody of the child.

As part of his community order, he will need to complete 20 rehabilitation activity days and will be subject to 90 days of alcohol monitoring.

He will also need to pay a £114 victim surcharge and £50 in court costs, which will be deducted from his benefits at a rate of £5 per week.