Worksop: “I nearly lost my ten-year-old son after Notts social care betrayed me,” claims outraged mother

The Worksop woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, says she is studying law in order to expose the social worker who she claims is to blame for the fact she almost lost custody of her son

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the Guardian she had suffered ‘horrific domestic and sexual abuse’ at the hands of her ex-husband and had applied for a Residence Order through the courts to protect her son last year.

But she was ‘distraught’ to discover that a child welfare report, provided by a Notts social worker to assist in the case, was ‘bias’ towards her ex-husband and ‘wrongly accused’ her of being an alcoholic and a drink driver.

Said the mother: “When I read the report, I wanted to end my life right then and there.”

“The social worker had based the report on malicious allegations from my ex-partner- that I was an alcoholic and a drink driver, that I was emotionally abusing my son. All these are untrue and unthinkable.”

The woman said that as a result of the ‘false allegations’ she lost her legal aid and was forced to represent herself in court.

She continued: “Thankfully, the judge read all the evidence I put together to prove these allegations were untrue, and I was granted a Shared Care order, which meant my son would live with me the majority of time.”

“If the judge hadn’t taken the time to read the evidence that I put together, I could have lost my son. I hope the fact I have fought tirelessly for him demonstrates how much I love him.”

The woman became interested in law during the proceedings and says she is now studying it to ‘further prove the falseness’ of the social worker’s report and to help others in her situation.

She added: “I discovered that the report provided by the social worker wasn’t balanced or fair, and therefore does not adhere to the legal requirements of a Section 7 child welfare report.”

“I have complained to Notts County Council so that Notts social care can be exposed for how they nearly destroyed my life. I don’t know where I got the strength to take on social care and my abusive ex-husband but I did. I don’t want this to happen to another vulnerable parent.”

“I received a letter of apology from Notts County Council earlier this year that answered none of my questions, so I am yet to receive a proper response from them.”

A spokesperson for Notts County Council told the Guardian: “We responded to this lady’s initial complaint within our published timescale for dealing with complaints.”

“However, she was unhappy with the response she received and requested that her complaint be formally investigated. The matter is therefore currently being investigated.”