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EXCLUSIVE: 'I'd only had a couple of drinks and my ex is a functioning alcoholic': Mother of four-week-old baby boy who died wedged down the side of a bed when they forgot where he was insists they WEREN'T drunk

The mother of a one-month-old baby who died after she had spent hours drinking with his father has insisted: 'I'd only had two drinks.'

Freddie Neil was found dead wedged between a wall and bed on Boxing Day 2014 and a review later found his parents, Matthew Neil and Kim Smart-Neil, had been drinking for the day and evening before.







Speaking for the first time since a review into his death was made public, Ms Smart-Neil has insisted she was not to blame.

She told MailOnline: 'I'm not an alcoholic and I only had two drinks on that evening.

'My ex-partner has a drink problem but he's a functioning alcoholic and you can't tell he's drunk. On that evening I just thought he'd gone to sleep.

'It's been made out that we were totally p***** but we weren't. There was alcohol there but we had friends round.'
She added: 'I've had a lot of counselling since it happened. I just have to accept it and it will wash over.
'There's a lot of different sides to the story and the people who know me know that.'
A review of the circumstances around Freddie's death found that Ms Smart-Neil and her former partner Matthew Neil had been drinking for 24-hours before his death.




They went to a local pub in Blackpool on Christmas Day 2014 before drinking more alcohol with friends at their terraced home, the review found.

Ms Smart-Neil went to bed in the early hours of Boxing Day and Mr Neil stayed up with Freddie until 6am before going to bed himself.

The review stated: 'It is unknown what happened in terms of [Freddie] being put to bed or where after being fed at 5am, as both parents were unable to account clearly for their actions regarding [the baby] overnight and into the following morning.

'Alcohol was evidently a feature in the lives of [the] family, due to father's regular drinking, including over the 24 hours leading to the death.'
Freddie's older brother woke the parents after taking his soiled nappy off himself at around noon on Boxing Day.




Freddie was found unconscious between a wall and a bed in a different room from his parents' room, where he usually slept.

Paramedics were called but the youngster was pronounced dead at hospital.

The review stated: 'Accounts have been obtained that the couple were celebrating at home and in a local public house, with friends and the two children, with alcohol being consumed by the adults throughout the afternoon and evening, and overnight into the next day. '

But Mr Neil - who had previously admitted drinking 'seven plus pints per day' - later claimed neither he nor his partner were 'inebriated' but that 'both had more than we should've'.

Mr Neil and Ms Smart-Neil were arrested and charged with neglect and manslaughter but the CPS later decided to drop charges after deciding there was not enough evidence.

The safeguarding review found that no public body could be blamed for Freddie's death and that his parents had, before the night he passed away, provided a 'safe environment for him'.



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