A heartbroken mum killed herself two years after her children were taken away from her by social services.
The day after Tanya Simpson took her own life her family were informed that she could've been reunited with her estranged kids.
The 29-year-old, whose body was found on March 2 at her Northfield, Birmingham home, had left notes for her nine-year-old daughter and son, aged four, her family said, Birmingham Mail reported.
One read: “I love you, I cannot cope without you.”
The family had been split up after she'd gone to school with a shallow scratch on her face.
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Police were called and Tanya admitted that she’d accidentally caused the minor injury while cradling the child’s face.
Birmingham Children's Trust decided to take the girl and her brother because of the injury and concerns they had over Tanya's mental health, a document in the family's possession shows.
Her daughter was placed with grandparents Ed and Linda, and her son with his father. Tanya had access to them twice a week.
Prior to that, there had been no social services involvement over the youngsters’ care, her family insist.
Tanya's loved ones want to know why the children were taken away so swiftly.
Fighting back tears, sister Kimberly said: “I can’t help but hate them. They don’t realise what they’ve done to my family, what they’ve done to the kids.
"You can see the pain in the little boy’s face. They tore those children apart. How can you split up two kids who have been together for so long?
“Mum and dad have lost their baby daughter. To add to their pain, they received a call the day after to be told it had been decided Tanya could have her daughter back.
"A social worker dealing with the case told my mum a meeting had been set to change the plan so she could move back with her mum.
"We can’t understand why the children had separate social workers.”
She added: “If my sister was not an unemployed single mum, if she had the money to pay for a lawyer, this would not have happened.
"If we’d had the money to pay for a solicitor, this would not have happened."
Kimberly claimed her sister told social workers and police, who decided to take no action over the scratch, that she would kill herself.
Paperwork relating to the case shows that Tanya made efforts to get the children back.
She underwent hair-strand and other tests to show she was drug and alcohol free, and attended an anger management course.
“She was a great mother,” said 31-year-old Kimberley.
“She lived for her kids, she would never hurt her kids. My sister never had a drink problem. She had a problem with emotions and would turn to drink, but that was when she was 16 and 17.
“And that was the problem. What they added to Tanya’s plan happened when she was a teenager.
"What happened was an accident. She was getting her daughter ready for school and she was not listening to her mum.
"Tanya put her hands on her face and accidentally scratched her. She had very long nails.
“The police said they may charge her, but dropped the case. We’re angry about the time they took to make that decision.
"What social workers were saying did not make sense. I can see the heartbreak in my sister’s face.
"Twice a week she got to see her children at her mother’s home. She couldn’t take the pain. The only time my sister was happy was when she was seeing her kids."
Kimberley said she was the last person to speak to her sister.
"She told me she couldn’t cope without her kids," she recalled.
"I said, ‘there’s always hope’ and she told me, ‘you don’t understand - I can’t live without my kids’. She couldn’t cope without her kids.”
Kimberley believes the case was delayed because it was passed from one social worker to another.
An inquest is to take place over the death, but the family have said that Tanya took her own life.
Kimberley revealed that her sister rang emergency services and told them what she’d done.
An ambulance arrived at 8pm, but it was some time before police could gain access to the property.
Tanya’s father, 54-year-old Ed, said: “It is as if it’s not real. She did speak about it (taking her own life), she tried to do it, but no one would listen.
"We went to the doctors and it was like talking to a wall. She was a good mother, it was an accident, but it was like talking to a wall.
"We were pushed from pillar to post. No one we turned to would listen."
A spokesman for Birmingham Children’s Trust, responsible for child care in the city, said: “Whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, we do extend our condolences to the family following this tragic event.”
Tanya’s funeral will take place at Lodge Hill Cemetery and Crematorium on March 30.
*The Samaritans are available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or head to the website to find your nearest branch. You matter.
