// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Childminder who left 27 children alone in her home pleads guilty to neglect
A Dunfermline childminder has admitted leaving more than 20 children she was caring for alone and unsupervised in her home.
Amanda Mathewson, 55, pleaded guilty at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court to neglect and abandoning children in her care.
Her offending took place at a number of locations in Dunfermline and elsewhere in Fife.
The court heard Mathewson had 27 children in her home, 19 more than she was licensed to look after.
Mathewson, who has been a self-employed childminder for 30 years, was arrested by police following allegations of cruelty towards children.
The court heard she had provided childcare services at her home in Dunfermline for children under the age of 16.
At the time of her arrest she had 15 children aged under 12, 10 children under primary school age, and two children under the age of one in her care.
Procurator fiscal Vicki Bell told the court two parents became suspicious of Mathewson after being informed their children were not present while the childminder carried out a school run.
They secretly went to the school and found their children were not with Mathewson, despite being in her care.
They then went to her home, where they heard a "child screaming" and found five unattended children in the garden.