Darren Scott O’Meara, 46, of Laverock Road, Warrnambool, pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court to leaving child​ren​ without supervision or care.

Police said that at 10.50am on December 28 ​last year ​a witness saw a small child running south along Laverock Road.

The witness stopped and approached the child, who ran to a nearby home, and the child was estimated to be aged between three and five years old.

Police approached the home and talked to a girl aged about eight years old, who said her father had gone to the shops, but would be back soon.

The girl said she was home alone with her little brother. 

A government department was then contacted, ​it ​had prior dealings with the family and at 12.14pm O’Meara arrived home. 

He was confrontational and aggressive and said he had only been gone a short time - “30 to 40 minutes tops”.

O’Meara said his children were hungry, they had not ​w​anted to go to the shops and he had not push​ed​ the issue.

He said he didn’t leave the children often and there was no milk or bread in the home for breakfast. 

Magistrate Cynthia Toose said it was a usual charge but O’Meara had a prior court appearance for the same ​offence in 2016.

She said being a sole parent was difficult and just after Christmas could be a hectic time for families.

Ms Toose said that the children had been left alone between at least 10.50am and 12.14pm.

“These littlest were left alone and that could have had tragic outcomes,” she said.

Defence counsel Jessica Tinetti said her client was a single father with sole custody for his two children, who both ​now ​attended school.

She said O’Meara had issues with post traumatic stress disorder after seeing a horrific incident during his childhood.