A THREE-month old baby died the morning after he was left in the care of his 11-year-old sister while his parents went out drinking.

Lisa and Tommy Thompson were slammed by Oldham coroner Simon Nelson as he recorded an open verdict on their son Thomas.

The couple - of Ashton Road West in Failsworth - left the tot and his twin Harry with their young daughter at 10.30pm before going out for four hours.

Mrs Thompson, 33, admitted drinking 'six or seven glasses of vodka and a pint of lager', while Mr Thompson, 35, had `four or five pints'.

The couple, who had left the twins asleep and instructed the girl to phone if they started crying, returned at 2.30am and put the boys in bed with them.

Mrs Thompson said she was woken at 7am by her husband shouting `there's something wrong with Thomas'. He called an ambulance while she tried to resuscitate the boy, who was not breathing.

Thomas was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival on May 3 last year.

A post mortem found no obvious cause of death which was recorded as `unascertained'.

Paediatric pathologist Dr Gauri Batra said sudden deaths among babies were more common when there was a history of bed sharing and this was exacerbated by alcohol.

Inconsistencies

Police found inconsistencies in the couple's accounts. A file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service who decided not to bring criminal proceedings due to lack of evidence.

During the inquest, Mr Nelson criticised the couple for leaving the children home alone.

He also claimed they had initially given 'inaccurate' statements to police in a bid to cover up their actions.

He said: "The cause of death was unascertained and in my view that is why the CPS decided there was insufficient evidence to pursue charges. Had it been ascertained I think charges would have been brought."

Mrs Thompson earlier said the couple had never left the twins in the care of their daughter before. She said she was `depressed' and `needed a break'.

Mr Nelson said although he accepted the choice to leave the twins in the care of their daughter was isolated, it was also `manifestly the wrong decision'.

He described the death of Thomas as `catastrophic' for the family and told Mr and Mrs Thompson: "The events of that 24-hour period will remain with you for the rest of your lives."