PARENTS whose baby died strapped in a car seat while they were on a booze binge today tearfully told The Sun Online: 'We made a terrible mistake".

Margaret Atherton, 36, and convicted criminal Steven Burke, 29, who lost two other children, say they've "been through hell" in a warning to others.

Savannah - previously known as "Child M" - is the third child of theirs to die in just 16 months, after the deaths of Jackson and Leyton at three days old and 16 months respectively .

Today, The Sun Online can reveal how Atherton - now a single mum to her five remaining kids - has been hounded out of her hometown of Wigan by locals.

When approached outside her new home, she broke down and sobbed: "It was one mistake - a terrible mistake."

Meanwhile Burke, an alcoholic with a criminal record spanning 13 years, admits he is haunted by the three deaths, saying: "It's just wrong, plain and simple".

But the unemployed dad - who has previously admitted to downing 15 cans of lager a night - didn't hesitate to blame his ex - who he has since had another child with.

Claiming she "drinks like a bloke", he said: "I looked to her for guidance. I'm no monster."

And his mum - who condemned their "neglectful" parenting - said Atherton has "blood on her hands".

She added: "She can be devious, she's poison."

It comes after the devastating mistakes of both parents were revealed - including their binge-drinking, chain-smoking chaotic lifestyle that saw them live in a cramped two-bed home with nine people.

The couple's turbulent lifestyle has seen cops called to their home on numerous occasions to investigate "alcohol and aggression" related incidents.

Social service workers - who were aware of the parents' alcohol misuse - said the dad would often "disappear for days on end", leaving their family life "unstable".

Following Savannah's death, a criminal investigation was launched but neither parent was charged.

Savannah, a premature twin born weighing less than a kilo, died in a car seat left on a bunk bed for 15 hours during a holiday arranged by social services.

The tot, her twin brother and a 13-month-old were checked on intermittently at the two-star Wellington Hotel in Blackpool as their parents boozed in the bar downstairs.

When their hotel room later was searched, cops found “empty cans of lager and beer bottles”.
Savannah's death in June 2016 followed that of tiny Jackson, who died aged just three days in June 2015, after Atherton boozed and smoked throughout her pregnancy, according to the social services report.

And little Leyton passed away three months after the family's doomed Blackpool holiday from an infection.

Despite the three tragedies, Atherton has been allowed to keep custody of her five remaining kids - three of whom have a different dad to Burke.

The mum - who once turned up drunk to hospital while 20 weeks pregnant with her first set of twins - has since been forced to flee to Blackburn after being hounded in the street by locals.

When approached by the Sun Online, she said: “We’ve had hell.”

Recalling Savannah's death, she claimed she was being "unfairly blamed".

She said: "We kept going and checking on them and checking they were okay.

“With the first set of twins, one died in hospital and they put it down to a few things due to prematurity and stuff like that.

“And then things happened with Savannah. Yeah. we shouldn’t have left her in a car seat and that.

“But we were away for a few days, we had this massive pram and we were at the top of this hotel.

“And you’ve seen [the size of] me. Taking the pram up loads of stairs to the top floor, you know what I mean…

"It's just a terrible mistake."

A coroner ruled that the precise cause of Savannah's death could not be ascertained.

But it was revealed she had been fed just three times in the previous 24 hours.

Criticising the Wigan Safeguarding Children Board report into the tot's death, Atherton said: “It doesn’t help with professionals, they’ve tried to put a spin on things."

Burke, who met Atherton in August 2014 after being released from a 30-month prison stint, now lives with his parents in Wigan.

Speaking to The Sun Online, he said he was unaware of the dangers of leaving babies in car seats and revealed he had necked “five or six” cans and bottles in the hours before Savannah's death.

The convicted criminal, whose offences include robbery, assault, theft, fraud, damage and firearm possession, admits he has struggled to cope since.

He said: “I tried to kill myself the day after Blackpool. With all three, it never leaves me. Never.

"I think about it every single day. It was wrong, plain and simple.

“I didn’t know anything [about the dangers of car seats]. I was a new dad. I’d only recently had Leyton and a year later

Savannah. Margaret had brought kids up for years.

“I looked up to her for guidance.”

Burke split from his ex in June but still harbours hopes of rekindling the relationship - against the wishes of his family.

Steven's mum, who we are choosing not to identify, condemned the actions of both parents - but claimed it is Atherton who "has blood on her hands".

The 49-year-old said: “[Steven] went up every 30 minutes but it doesn’t justify it. I’ve never defended it.

"Those babies should never have been left - end of. You don’t leave two 10-week-old premature babies and a 13-month-old baby on their own on the third floor of a hotel. "I’m sorry, you don’t do it. It’s wrong.

“That in itself is neglect, leaving babies on their own.

“I had a travel cot they could have borrowed. Taken it with them. The clue is in the title; it’s a car seat, not a bed.”

"I’m not sticking up for my son. But he’s a first time dad, she’s done it three times before.

"She can be devious, she’s poison. I’ve never known anything like it."

It comes after the safeguarding report revealed 11 recommendations which, if applied at the time, could have prevented Savannah's “potentially predictable” death.

It tells how authorities missed the chance to intervene because Atherton would "minimise" her alcohol issues and refuse help when visiting medics.

Savannah's death happened just weeks after the family’s fourth referral to social services.

But professionals had recorded Atherton as having a positive relationship with her children and providing “consistently good enough parenting as a single parent” to her three eldest kids.

The paper said there was “no evidence” Atherton was engaged in anti-social behaviour or criminal activity.

The report concluded: "Whilst the review has identified areas of multi-agency practice that could be strengthened, it has not identified any serious omission in practice that contributed to the death of Child M.

"Ultimately, parents could not follow through on the plans to ensure Child M could sleep safely in the hotel and made the choice to place Child M to sleep in a car seat.

"This is one of the most significant risk factors in sudden infant death."