A MUM-of-two has avoided prison after she admitted neglecting her two children when she was found “incredibly intoxicated” in a Powys town.

The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was so drunk she had urinated herself when police in Llandrindod Wells arrested her on September 13, last year. The woman’s two children, aged four and nine, were with her at the time and were described as crying and upset when police officers arrived on the scene. They were also tired, infested with lice and said to not be properly dressed for the cold weather.

The woman had downed a bottle of spirits and been hanging around the Bargain Buys shop in the Tudor Lane area when police were called at 9pm.

The mum, from north Wales, had been staying at a women’s refuge in Powys at the time after escaping an abusive partner.

She admitted two charges of neglecting a child between January 1 and September 13, 2020, at a previous hearing in Llandrindod last month. She also pleaded guilty to being drunk in charge of a child under the age of seven and a fourth charge of possessing cannabis. Magistrates in Llandudno on Friday, August 13, told her they had considered sending her to jail, but instead ordered her to carry out a community penalty.

Prosecutor Rebecca Ross told the court officers had received a call from a concerned member of the public, who described the defendant as being in a drunken state while caring for two children, who were crying and upset in the street.

“The witness saw she wasn’t capable of looking after the children, she was very, very drunk and had fallen on the floor due to her drunken state,” said Ms Ross.

“Police arrived and described the defendant as being unable to speak, she was slurring her words to the point of not being able to be understood. Both children were crying. She was incredibly intoxicated.

“She stumbled a few times and almost fell over in their presence, they were not properly dressed for the cold conditions. PC Bowman was approached by another witness who was with the defendant; he said he had been trying to help her.

“The children were placed in police protection and the defendant was arrested.”

The younger child was found to have a soiled nappy and both were placed in emergency foster care the next morning.

CCTV footage from the shop showed the woman had been hanging around outside for a number of hours that evening, with the two children running around while she sat on a wall talking to three men.

Ben Jones, acting for the mum, described his client as a vulnerable adult. He had told the Llandrindod bench that she had a mental comprehension and reading age of an 11-year-old.

“She made admissions in interview, she is clearly quite remorseful for her actions,” said Mr Jones, who said his client had no similar previous convictions and had only appeared once in court before, for an unrelated offence.

“She has only ever been before a court on one occasion, is not familiar with the system and is clearly very anxious today, given she is a vulnerable adult.

“She was cared for by her grandmother growing up as her mother always worked and continued to work, and her grandmother took on the role of guardian.”

Mr Jones previously said life had become increasingly worse for the mum in the last 18 months and that she had been a long-term victim of domestic violence from two former partners, while she had also suffered domestic abuse as a child.

He said she had drunk to cope with her problems and that the children got caught up in it. He had also said neither child suffered any serious injury, nor had there been any malice on the part of the defendant.

The woman must comply with an 18-month community order with supervision, which will include 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days, to help her with thinking skills, and address her alcohol and drug issues. She must also complete 80 hours of unpaid work and pay £85 costs and a £95 surcharge.

Chair of the bench Ann Dickinson said: “We agree this is a very sad case, we think you are remorseful and we recognise your fear, vulnerability and ongoing pain. You and your children are all victims in this case.

“This case was very close to the custody level but we’re going to deal with it by way of a high level community penalty.

“You must understand that if you break any requirements or commit another offence it could be increased or you could be resentenced, but hopefully with everything in place you can move forward.”