Wolverhampton heroin death toddler's parents plead guilty Published duration 10 June 2013

image caption Daniel Jones was found collapsed at a house in Wolverhampton in May 2012

The parents of a toddler who died from a heroin overdose have admitted causing his death.

Daniel Jones, aged 23 months, collapsed at a house in Penn in Wolverhampton in May 2012. He died in hospital.

Simon Jones, 30, from Windsor Avenue, Penn, admitted manslaughter, while Emma Bradburn, 34, of the same address, admitted causing or allowing the death.

They are due to reappear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 3 July for sentencing.

Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board, which includes the city council's children's services department, is holding a serious case review into the circumstances surrounding Daniel's death.

'Untimely and tragic'

The death was initially treated as unexplained but tests later determined the toddler had died from a heroin overdose.

During the police investigation, a small cannabis-growing operation was found in the loft and drug paraphernalia was found in a bedroom, police said.

Det Insp John Smith said: "It seems that during his short life, Daniel became accustomed to living amongst these items and, tragically, consumed a quantity of heroin that ultimately led to his death.

"We don't know exactly how the youngster came to ingest the illegal drugs but we do know that he should never have been exposed to them in any case.