Mum faces jail for leaving daughter home alone

Mar 10 2008 by Sally Williams, Western Mail

A “SHIRLEY Valentine” who left her daughter home alone for six weeks is due to be sentenced today.

The woman, who has no previous convictions, is expected to be sentenced at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court.

Appearing at the court last month, she was warned that she could face prison after being found guilty of neglect.

The woman left £100 and a fridge stocked with food when she went for a six-week break abroad last April, the court heard. She visited her toyboy lover, intending to arrange a British visa for him, while her 14-year-old daughter remained in her home with her own boyfriend.

The mother, who cannot be identified, said she filled the fridge and freezer with meals and arranged for a neighbour and her ex-husband, the girl’s father, to look after the girl.

The court heard that £60 of the cash given to the girl went on school dinners, and that she bought clothes and CDs with the remaining money.

Social services were contacted after two days and the girl was then cared for by her father. Her mother returned in June.

Michael Davies, defending, had told magistrates, “The prosecution say this lady did a Shirley Valentine – she disappeared without a care for the child and without making adequate arrangements for her to be looked after.”

He said his client, who denied willfully causing her daughter to be neglected and abandoned in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health, now wished she had not left the girl on her own.

The court heard the woman knew her underage daughter had been having a sexual relationship with a boy and allowed it to take place, which magistrates ruled amounted to neglect.

She was released on bail.