A SINGLE mother left her six-year-old daughter home alone twice in just over two weeks. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted abandoning her child and was given a seven-day prison sentence, suspended for a year.

The Magistrate’s Court heard that Social Services had been involved with the family for some time and that the woman had been formally cautioned in January.

The offences for which she was charged occurred on 6 and 22 March.

The court heard that the family lives in a Town flat with a communal hallway.

At about 6.30pm on 6 March, police knocked on the front door.

The girl answered and said that her mother was in the bath. She then said that she had gone to the shop.

Officers checked the flat and found she had been left alone.

They made numerous attempts to contact the mother on her mobile phone. Social services was called and staff arrived at 7.30pm.

The girl was seen picking up a cigarette lighter and trying to light it.

The defendant returned home at about 7.45pm.

She said that she had asked a 69-year-old man who lived upstairs to look after her daughter.

The woman said that she had had to go out to meet a friend and that her daughter did not want to go.

She told police that she had knocked on the man’s door and shouted to ask him to look after her daughter.

She said that she believed she had heard him reply that he would.

At 12.15am on 22 March, police received a telephone call saying that the woman had left the girl again.

Ten minutes later they found her asleep in bed. There was no one else in the flat.

Her mother returned home at 1.10am.

She told police that she had put her daughter to bed at 9.30pm and had gone to a friend’s house nearby at 12.15am to pick up some cigarettes she had asked to be bought for her.

She said that she had stayed at the friend’s house chatting until 1.05am.

Advocate David Domaille said that his client had a very distressing background and that her marriage had recently broken down.

He told the court that the woman, who has two other children living outside the island, intended to return to her home area as soon as possible.

Advocate Domaille said that the girl was ‘a happy, sensible and quite grown-up young child’.

He added that his client had overestimated her ability to cope alone and asked the court to consider imposing a bind over.

Assistant-Magistrate Philip Robey said that it was clear the defendant had experienced some difficulties. He said that had it been a single, isolated incident he might have been able to show some leniency.

But he noted that the woman had received repeated warnings and a formal caution.

Mr Robey said that the girl was at risk from herself and others when left alone in a house that anyone could enter.