New prison threat for gran who was jailed over a hug: Pensioner could be locked up again after helping her granddaughter to escape from a care home

Court order prevents contact between Kathleen Danby and granddaughter
In 2014 Mrs Danby, 74, was sent to jail after being caught embracing her
She is now accused of assisting 20-year-old's escape from supervised flat

Published: 22:28 GMT, 7 August 2016 | Updated: 00:00 GMT, 8 August 2016

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A pensioner who was jailed for hugging her granddaughter is risking prison again after helping her escape from a care home.

Kathleen Danby, 74, is under a court order banning contact between the pair.

In 2014 she was caught on CCTV embracing her granddaughter and sentenced to three months in prison in a draconian Court of Protection ruling.

And she could be locked up again for assisting the escape by the 20-year-old from a supervised flat in Derbyshire last week.

Kathleen Danby is pictured here with her grandchildren, whose faces are obscured for legal reasons

The younger woman said she felt ‘like a prisoner’ after being forced to live hundreds of miles away from family.

She suffers from learning difficulties and has been kept in care after her 18th birthday because social workers say she is incapacitated.

She went on the run after escaping through an unlocked door and immediately telephoned her grandmother for help.

Mrs Danby put her up for a night in a hotel and has brought her to Scotland where they hope to ‘live like a normal family’.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is said to be happier than ever to be back with her family after ten years in social services care.

Mrs Danby faces being locked up for not returning the young woman to the flat. She said she is ‘fed up of being pushed around by bullies in social services’ and hopes the Scottish legal system will be more lenient.

‘It was not my idea for her to run away – she has tried it more than 200 times in the past five years,’ she said. ‘But this time she got farther than she had before and rang me for help. She has learning difficulties but she is capable of making her own decisions.

‘She’s an adult who knows her own mind. She doesn’t want to be at the home and feels unsafe there. How could I turn my own flesh and blood away?’

A judge quashed Mrs Danby’s 2014 jail sentence but the pensioner was forced to spend two nights in prison and one in a police cell for breaking the Court of Protection’s diktats.

Under a judgment kept secret from the public Mrs Danby had previously been banned from making contact with the girl.

And she was told she could speak to her granddaughter on the phone only once a month and at a set time, with social workers listening in on their conversation.

‘We’ve been put through the wringer for years over the simplest of requests,’ she said.

‘All I’ve ever asked is for the authorities to listen to her but they refuse and make her out to be incapacitated.’ Her granddaughter last night told how she felt unsafe in the assisted living accommodation where she was placed two years ago.

She said: ‘I’ve been miserable there. No one cares about me or looks after me. All they are interested in is keeping me locked up, away from my family.

John Hemming (pictured), a former Liberal Democrat MP, said: 'There is a major injustice in this case'

‘When I saw my chance to run through an open door, I went for it. No one came after me.’

Police have found the girl but have not removed her from her family. Experts say it may be difficult for Scottish police to enforce English court orders.

Derbyshire County Council made no comment.

John Hemming, a former MP who campaigns for open justice, said: ‘I am aware of a number of cases where people’s liberty is restricted and there are reporting restrictions – in other words they are secret prisoners.

‘It is unclear what good it is doing to keep Mrs Danby’s granddaughter away from her family. There is a major injustice in this case and if legal action ensues from Derbyshire County Council, I will ensure an appeal gets to the Court of Appeal to end this oppression.’

The family said the council ignored requests for Mr Hemming to be allowed to visit the girl.