The woman and the child were found by the police in a town street after 11 pm on a Saturday in June when the night out ended in violence.
And the Magistrate’s Court was told that officers were so concerned about the youngster’s welfare they sent her to be examined at the Hospital.
The woman, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the child, was heavily intoxicated, unsteady on her feet and complaining of head injuries but was unable to tell police what had happened.
It later emerged that the young child had been pushed against a wall after trying to separate her mother and a man who were fighting.
Police legal adviser Advocate Carla Carvalho said that when the police came across them, the child was crying and in a ‘very distressed state’. The child was wearing a dressing gown, pyjamas and flip flops at the time.
The court heard that earlier on 16 June the mother and her friend had been gambling online on jackpotjoy.com. The defendant won almost £1,000 and the adults decided to go to her friend’s house to celebrate. The court heard that the two women had already each drunk about a bottle of wine.
Arrangements were made to drop the girl off at the home of the defendant’s brother to allow the celebrations to continue. However, Advocate Carvalho said that the woman did not arrive with the child until some time between 8.30 pm and 9 pm. ‘The brother refused entry on the basis that his own child had been woken up,’ she said.
The court heard that as the woman had another friend who lived nearby, she went to that person’s home where the mother consumed at least another bottle of wine.
Advocate Carvalho said that at about 11.15 pm there was a disagreement about the behaviour of a dog at the property. Advocate Carvalho said that a verbal disagreement developed into an altercation between the defendant and her friend’s boyfriend, during which the defendant fell and hit her head on the sofa. During this incident, the young child tried to separate the adults but was pushed on the shoulder and ended up against a wall.
The mother and child managed to get out of the property, but the woman had to go back inside as she had left her keys behind. ‘There was then a further altercation during which the defendant fell to the ground and hit her head,’ said Advocate Carvalho.
Advocate James Bell, defending, said that his client was ‘genuinely remorseful’.
The lawyer said that a probation report identified that the mother was at a very low risk of reoffending, that she had a good work record and also enjoyed the support of her parents.
Having read a reference from the child’s school, Relief Magistrate David Le Cornu said to the defendant: ‘The school reference makes it clear that this was an aberration. It is clearly not your usual behaviour and I think you have learnt a lot from it.’
The mother pleaded guilty to recklessly exposing a child to the risk of harm and was bound over to be of good behaviour for 12 months.
