EADT/STAR HOLLIE-RAE MERRICK; Megan Coote who has been allowed to keep her child Olivia: Contributed 1/3/10; EADT 2.3.10; ES 2.3.10; ES 3.3.10

Kesgrave: Mother allowed to keep her child

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A heavily pregnant Megan Coote fled to Spain on February 7 last year when she was told that her baby would be taken into care by social services as soon as it was born.

Megan, who has mild learning difficulties, gave birth to Olivia a week later and only returned to her home in Kesgrave in May after her father Dale had worked tirelessly to have her case reviewed.

And on Wednesday the family had the best possible kick-start to 2011 after being handed a residence order by a family court judge.

The order means Megan and Olivia, who will be one on February 15, can now live at home with Megan’s parents with no fear that they are being watched by the council.

Megan’s mother Lorraine said she was so relieved to have been granted the order and that the whole family could put the troubles of the past year behind them

She said: “We are very happy now because everything is in order and we can be left alone. It’s been over a year now because Olivia is nearly a year old and it started when Megan fell pregnant.

“We’re just a normal family and it’s just because she has a learning disability they seemed to think she was easy picking. She is absolutely ecstatic. It’s very clear that Olivia is just a very happy, contented baby and has been that way since the day she was born.”

Megan said she was “happy and excited” to be granted the residence order.

A Suffolk County Council spokesman said: “When local authority children’s services work with children and families they strive to work closely in partnership to achieve the best possible outcome for children.

“This is achieved by identifying a secure and permanent placement that is in the child’s best long term interests. There are a number of ways to achieve this and a residence order is one of these.”