Toddlers wandered 200m away from crèche

A crèche told parents and gardaí that two toddlers had gone missing for three or four minutes and were found outside the front door when, in fact, the children were missing for more than 20 minutes and were found by a stream almost 200m away.

Crèche staff also thought just one child was missing and only realised the second had gone when the pair were discovered together.

The court was shown CCTV footage from the Giraffe Crèche at Belarmine, Stepaside, Co Dublin. It showed the children, a boy and girl aged 18 and 19 months, leaving a playground through an open gate even though three care workers were supervising the area.