A child was almost run over by a bus while in the hands of his drunken parents, a court has heard.

Police came to the aid of the child as his mother struggled to bring him to safety after he fell in the path of an oncoming double decker.

The child's father reportedly stood back and watched while retrieving a new can of alcohol from his bag.

Devon Live reports that details of the incident emerged when the couple, aged in their 40s, appeared before magistrates in Exeter.

Prosecutor Warjinder Sadeghi told the court the offence happened at about 7pm one day in Exeter city centre.

The pair, both alcoholics, were reported by a concerned member of the public who saw them pushing their 21-month-old child in a buggy through the town centre.

CCTV found them on their way to the bus station.  

"Both defendants appeared drunk," said the prosecutor.

Police arrived at the scene and assisted the mother who was struggling to get the child out of his buggy.

The pair were reported by a concerned member of the public
The pair were reported by a concerned member of the public

The woman tried to leave the scene on a bus but returned a short time later.

"The child fell over in the road in front of a double decker bus," said Ms Sadeghi.

"She tried to pick him up but police spotted the danger and got him out of harm's way.

"The child's dad was slurring his words while 'hitting himself on the head with his hands," the court heard.

"He continued to drink alcohol, getting cans from out of his bag," said the prosecutor.

The couple started arguing and swearing at each other while police assessed the state of the child.

"He had dirty marks all over his face," said Ms Sadeghi.

He is now subject to child protection measures and is in foster care.

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The couple, who cannot be named because of a court order, pleaded guilty to being found drunk at Exeter Bus Station while having charge of a child under the age of seven.

The boy's father has a previous conviction from 2011 for the same offence. His mother has a previous caution for child neglect.

Stephen Nunn, defending, said both had been in the grip of serious drink and social problems at the time of the offence but were now working to overcome their difficulties.

Magistrates said the Father had been doing well getting clean of drink and drugs and the mother has been doing a course to help her control her addiction. 

"This was a very serious offence," said the chair of the bench.

"It involved a 21-month-old child put in serious danger by your drunken state."

But she said progress made by the defendants had been so good magistrates would move away from sentencing guidelines and give each of them a conditional discharge for 24 months.

There were no costs due to the pair's limited means. They were both ordered to pay £20 victim surcharge.

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