Childminder who left more than 20 children alone in her home jailed

A childminder who admitted leaving more than 20 children she was caring for alone and unsupervised in her home has been jailed for two years.Amanda Mathewson, 55, pled guilty to wilfully neglecting, abandoning and exposing children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to their health at her home in Dunfermline, Fife in August 2024.An internal Care Inspectorate probe found Mathewson, who was been licensed to look after eight children under the age of 16 at any one time, had been tipped off about unannounced inspections by an unknown staff member.Her offending only came to light after concerned parents spied on her leaving the home without their children.Sheriff MacRitchie said Mathewson had committed a "gross abuse of a position of trust" during sentencing at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.He told her she had "knowingly" created an environment in which "injury, terror and neglect were obvious and foreseeable".The sentencing hearing was told about victim impact statements from affected children who said they had suffered "nightmares, anxiety and a distrust of childcare providers".This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X, external to get the latest alerts.