Mother, 20, jailed for leaving her baby in dirty cot for a WEEK at Christmas while she partied with friends and only returned to feed her Cheerios and microwave meals

Mother, 20, jailed for leaving her baby in dirty cot for a WEEK at Christmas while she partied with friends and only returned to feed her Cheerios and microwave meals

When police entered the home, the 15-month-old had been on her own for more than 24 hours
The house was dark and cold, with dirty clothes, empty wine bottles, beer cans and dirty nappies strewn over the floors
Neighbours called police after hearing the little girl’s screams
The little girl had not been changed for days and had nappy rash so severe she was bleeding
Mother wept as she was jailed for 15 months for neglect

By Emma Reynolds

PUBLISHED: 12:26 GMT, 20 August 2012 | UPDATED: 12:52 GMT, 20 August 2012

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A young mother was jailed today for leaving her baby home alone every day for a week while she went out partying.

The selfish 20-year-old left her 15-month-old daughter in her cot at her house in Powys, Mid Wales, while she stayed out all night drinking with friends.

A court heard heard that she would 'pop back' every day to feed the starving baby Cheerios breakfast cereal and a microwave meal.
Neglect: The mother wept as she was sentenced to 15 months in jail at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court

Neglect: The mother wept as she was sentenced to 15 months in jail at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court

She would then return to a friend’s flat to carry on partying, during the holiday season last Christmas and New Year.

Neighbours called police after hearing the little girl’s screams coming from the house in Brecon.




The court heard two officers arrived to find the house in darkness, very cold inside and with all the rooms in a total mess.

Prosecutor Michael Hammett said: 'The house was in a state of disarray with rubbish, dirty clothes, empty wine bottles, beer cans and dirty nappies strewn over the floors.

'One of the officers went into the bedroom and found the little girl subdued in her crib.

'There was no heating on in the house and she was partly covered by a blanket.'
You neglected her for a very long time. Your daughter was left in the dark and cold, she was hungry and thirsty and had not been changed for days.
- JUDGE JOHN CURRAN

The court heard that the baby was taken to the nearby police station and officers went out to a local shop to buy nappies, clean clothes and baby wipes.

Mr Hammett said: 'When they gave her food and drink she grabbed them as if she had been starved.'

The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police she had been back to the house on four occasions to feed her baby but would then leave her at home alone again.

When police entered the mother’s house, the girl had been on her own for more than 24 hours.

She was examined by a doctor and found to have severe nappy rash, which was bleeding.

The single mother admitted neglect, weeping as she was jailed for 15 months at Merthyr Crown Court.

Geraint Jones, defending, said: 'The mum hopes to rebuild her relationship with the her little girl very slowly when she leaves prison.'

Judge John Curran jailed her saying: 'You may have gone back to the house on occasions but the fact is you neglected her for a very long time.

'Your daughter was left in the dark and cold, she was hungry and thirsty and had not been changed for days.'





why were the mcanns not charged with neglect they did basicalkly the same thing with the twins and maddie and why did NO one call the police when maddie screamed for 75 minutes??

Selfish cow! Poor little baby

chrissie wrote: Selfish cow! Poor little baby

i wonder if she told police it was like dinning in her back garden???? that poor little sweetheart she is safe now xxxxxxx

and why may i ask did the media not call the mcanns SELFISH after leaving 3 kids under 4 alone everynight wiht probably dirty nappies in the twins case and also maddie screaming!!!

It's a Brit thing, we all do it! OK being ironic, but hey it does look like it is Brit thing.
Get pregnant at a young age, the world is your oyster, handouts, council flat, EVERYTINHG paid for. So it's party time. Ohhhh, that thing in the cot, what got me all this, needs to be looked after.. Doh!!
OK, few bags of Cheerios and and a bath once a week.... Sorted. You can't make this crap up

fred wrote:It's a Brit thing, we all do it! OK being ironic, but hey it does look like it is Brit thing.
Get pregnant at a young age, the world is your oyster, handouts, council flat, EVERYTINHG paid for. So it's party time. Ohhhh, that thing in the cot, what got me all this, needs to be looked after.. Doh!!
OK, few bags of Cheerios and and a bath once a week.... Sorted. You can't make this crap up

Do you know Fred, other than the McCanns wanting us to believe it is a "brit" thing, I do not think it is - and I am not British. Kates comment about how "we all do it" has always been one of the things that annoys me so much. In fact there have been times that I thought perhaps people do and I was just blind. So this year I decided to open my eyes and see what was going on around me while on holiday.

I have just returned from that holiday, which I have spent in a very family orientated atmosphere, surrounded by families of all nationalities, but in the main English, Dutch, German, French and Irish.

I took time this year just to people watch, or maybe family watch, just to see how all of these families would behave, how busy the kids clubs were, what did the adults did etc.

I will say I have found the British families the most protective of their children, my husband remarked on it, so for him to notice it must have been so.

It was a very interesting exercise, indeed I was in what I considered to be a very "safe" environment - like somebody else we all know !. However at no time, ever, did I see parents in a restaurant, bar or even the take away without their children in tow. Interestingly enough, whenever I saw the kids clubs out and about on their daily activities there were no more than ten kids on any one occasion - there would have been around three to four hundred family units on the site, so a very small up take for the kids clubs. No such thing as an all day drop in centre, just a few measley hours in the morning and they took the kids out and about evey day and the mean people had an age restriction, you had to be older than 5years to attend - definately not a holiday for Kate and Gerry.

So I suppose it all just endorsed the fact that, other than the McCanns and their pals, the vast majority of families go on holiday and stay together and have fun. Likewise, the vast majority of parents are good people, but there are exceptions, as in this terrible story.

Justiceforallkids wrote:and why may i ask did the media not call the mcanns SELFISH after leaving 3 kids under 4 alone everynight wiht probably dirty nappies in the twins case and also maddie screaming!!!

Well we know that one of the other children had a nappy problem as a result of being ill - was it not Rachel Oldfield who went to great lengths to describe the smell in one of her statements.

The so called mother, who was jailed for 15 months for badly neglecting her baby daughter and leaving her is similar circumstances to the McCanns, has been given a soft sentence in my opinion. Still at least she was prosecuted, the "gruesome twosome" have so far escaped that fate.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall, when Social Workers and a police officer arrived on the McCanns doorstep the day after they came home from PDL in September 2007. Gerry McCann said he invited Social Services, to his home, which I don't believe for one minute. He may have agreed to the visit, but I don't believe he invited them.

I also don't believe that the McCanns were told by S.S. that how they behaved was within the realms of normal parenting (or words to that effect) and I also believe that the reason Kate McCann is no longer a practicing doctor, is because of the visit by S.S.

I do however wonder if the reason the police officer attended, was to read the riot act to the McCanns and give them a caution. Maybe someone on here might know why.

mossman wrote:

Justiceforallkids wrote:and why may i ask did the media not call the mcanns SELFISH after leaving 3 kids under 4 alone everynight wiht probably dirty nappies in the twins case and also maddie screaming!!!

Well we know that one of the other children had a nappy problem as a result of being ill - was it not Rachel Oldfield who went to great lengths to describe the smell in one of her statements.

Nappies in the boot, nappies full and over flowing in the bedroom, they crop up a lot in the Mccann story. I mean really, who would leave baby that was so ill? It is out side the realms of any parenting.