The parents of a newborn baby girl believed to have died after ingesting cocaine through breast feeding have been spared jail.

Darcey Maunder was discovered unresponsive on a bed in a hotel in Newquay, Cornwall on November 11.

Her parents, Andrew Maunder and Rochelle Thomas, had been using cocaine at the time – which caused the 9-day-old baby ‘unnecessary suffering’ and put her health at risk, Truro Crown Court heard.

But a judge took an ‘exceptional view’ and handed both parents a suspended jail sentence after they admitted a charge of child cruelty.

Following Darcey’s birth on November 2, 2023, Thomas’s mother came down to Cornwall to support her, before they all travelled to the north of the country.

The family stayed in a hotel on November 8 – but three days later Thomas’s mother called for her daughter and heard screaming from their room, flinging the door open to find Darcey unresponsive on the bed.

Police and paramedics raced to the scene but could not revive Darcey – whose parents were said to be ‘significantly distraught’.

Maunder admitted using cocaine in the hotel room with his wife where tubes, scales and a plastic bag containing the drug were found.

Hair strands belonging to Thomas were analysed and found to contain cocaine – indicating regular use, including during her pregnancy.

Prosecutor Joss Ticehurst said Maunder had also used cocaine, adding both parents using the drug had put their daughter at risk.

The prosecutor said Darcey may have ingested the Class A drug either through breast feeding, through the drug being on their fingers or on contaminated items in the room which could have caused a fatal reaction.

But he told the court it was not possible to say whether cocaine or overlaying in bed had ultimately resulted in the fatality.

Maunder admitted snorting up to four lines of cocaine in the bathroom and Thomas said she had taken some two days after Darcey’s birth and while eight months pregnant.

Miss Victoria Bastock, defending Maunder, said: ‘It was a tragic set of circumstances and a tragedy keenly felt by the two defendants who very much loved their daughter.’

Judge Simon Carr described the cases as ‘extremely emotional’ but added he was taking an ‘exceptional course’ because the incident took place three years ago.

He said he wanted to ‘make it clear’ the defendants were not responsible for Darcey’s death – because the prosecution were unable to find the cause.

But Mr Carr added the cause was ‘most likely she ingested the cocaine through breast feeding’.

The judge said Thomas, now 30, had endured a traumatic childhood, suffering with PTSD and depression and had taken cocaine as a coping mechanism.

He said Maunder, now 29, had abused alcohol and drugs and had poor mental health – but showed ‘genuine remorse’.

‘Nothing I say will bring Darcey back,’ he said, insisting immediate custody would be futile.

Mr Carr sentenced the pair to 30 months in jail, suspended for three years, with 12 months probation alongside a drug rehab requirement for Thomas.