Emmerdale’s Laurel locks Ashley Thomas in his bedroom as she struggles to cope with his dementia
Laurel was forced to take the heartbreaking decision as Ashley lashed out as she struggled to cope with all her responsibilities
EMMERDALE'S Laurel Thomas has hit rock bottom dealing with husband Ashley's dementia and locked him in his bedroom.
As the stresses of taking on Ashley's care on her own after deciding she wasn't going to let him go to the specialist day care centre took its toll, Laurel became desperate and ended up locking Ashley in his bedroom.
Determined to prove she can cope without putting Ashley in day care and save Gabby's stress of seeing her dad there, Laurel wasn't counting on Bernice turning up screaming the place down.
With Ashley becoming confused and scared over Bernice's histrionics, Laurel tries to calm him down before Sandy insists on her taking a break.
Heading over for a catch-up with Nicola, Laurel feels refreshed and upbeat so decides to go home, but as she walks back she catches sight of Ashley wandering the village alone.
Furious to discover Sandy fell asleep while looking after both Ashley and Dolly, her rage is only interrupted by a phone call from the school with the news Arthur is sick and she needs to collect him.
But with her car broken, Laurel's faced with taking both Ashley and baby Dotty on the bus to the school to collect her son.
But struggling to cope, Ashley slips away and walks into the road, nearly being knocked down by Diane's car.
As the pair get home, Ashley tries to leave the house again and with Laurel unable to reason with him she tells him it's time for bed.
Heading upstairs, she gets him ready for bed and takes drastic action as he tries to leave the room when Baby Dotty begins crying and he tries to escape the sound.
Pushing him back into the room and demanding he gets in to bed, he reacts with shock and demands she gets off him and lashes out.
Afraid of being hit again, Laurel jumps back and locks Ashley in his room as he cries out to be let out, insisting he's not tired.
"I'm sorry," she said as she began crying at what she's had to do.
Viewers were left sobbing as Laurel reached breaking point, taking to Twitter to share their distress at the scenes and praise for the soap's handling of the issue.
- Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV
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