This story happened 15 years ago when Iwas only 17 but it is a night that I will never forget for as long as I live. I was on my summer holidays from school and trying to earn some extra pocket money. So I decided to put up some posters advertising babysitting. The posters were up about a week and I already had done two jobs and had just gotten a phone call for my third that very night. It was for a local couple called John and Elaine Sanderson. They were going out for a meal to celebrate Elaine’s birthday and wanted me there for 7.30pm. I arrived around 7.15pm, the baby was already asleep so Elaine showed me around the house and assured me that Tom (the baby) would sleep for the night. I remember thinking that it was easy cash and i was delighted.

They finally left around 7.40pm and said they would be back no later than midnight. I got myself a drink of lemonade and settled down to watch T.V. I must have dozed off because next thing I knew I was being woken by the baby monitor. I looked at the clock, it was 9.30pm. So I went upstairs and found Tom wriggling around in his cot crying. I thought he might need changing so i took him downstairs to his changing area and just as I was about to take off his sleep-suit the phone rang. I lifted Tom and ran to pick it up. It was Elaine checking to see was everything OK. I told her everything was fine and that I was just about to change Tom’s nappy. She said she found it funny that Tom woke as normally he slept through the night and if I had any problems to ring her and she would come straight home. I assured her I could manage and just to enjoy her night.

I changed Tom and put him back to bed. I went downstairs, cleaned up and settled back down in front of the T.V. It was 10.45pm when Tom woke again so I went back upstairs and found him crying again but this time with all the buttons of his sleep-suit opened. I was sure I had closed them up before I put him back to bed. I lifted him up and tried to rock him but nothing would so i took him back downstairs checked his nappy again then thinking he might be hungry I tried to fed him a bottle. But he wouldn’t take it so I gently started rocking him again and finally he started dozing. I brought him back upstairs but as soon as I put him in his cot he started screaming again and pointing at a life size clown in the corner of his room. So I stood at the other side of his cot so he couldn’t see the clown and finally got him back asleep.