A MUM has admitted leaving her two-year-old home alone in a dirty nappy for hours at a time.

The tot was so badly neglected, tears would stream down her cheeks, but she would make no sound, a court heard.

The Highworth mum left her daughter alone for up to eight hours a day, sometimes as often as six days a week.

Despite an Adver bid to name the mother, Swindon magistrates rejected our appeal and imposed a court order banning the 28-year-old from being identified.

Nick Barr, prosecuting, told the court that the tot was found crying alone in a cot.

Her nappy was stuck on with brown tape.

A foster carer who looked after the baby, after she was rescued, said she showed a typical symptom of neglect, silent crying.

Mr Barr said: “At about 4pm on September 22, police officers went to the address as a result of an anonymous call to social services.

“There was no answer at the door but they saw a young child in a cot in the living room.

“Police forced entry and found the child home alone.

“She was all alone and had no access to food or water. The heating in the house was on and the child was crying.

“She was wearing a heavily soiled nappy. The nappy had been fixed with brown tape to the child.”

The baby was found with a raging temperature and wrapped in several layers of clothes, the central heating was turned up and she had no water.

Mr Barr described the heartbreaking behaviour seen in the child, by the foster family who took her in immediately after her rescue.

“On the first evening at the foster home, she came into contact with other children,” he said. “She looked sad but didn’t cry.

“When she was taken to a busy area like a playground she looked frightened but didn’t cry.

“This is called silent crying, because the tears were running down her face but there was no audible sound.

“The child was very clingy, holding onto everything and wanting to be picked up.”

The court was told the girl did not have the communication skills expected of a child her age, possibly because of lack of interaction with other people.

The mother pleaded guilty to wilful neglect and causing unnecessary suffering to her child. She told police she had “had enough.”

The mother was only brought to justice because a neighbour became suspicious. “A neighbour nearby said she had been concerned about the little girl,” said Mr Barr.

“She rarely saw her go out of the house. Over the last year the neighbour had become increasingly concerned. She would see the mother going out in the car.

”Sometimes the mother was leaving the child home alone every day of the week, leaving at 1pm and typically not returning until 9 to 10pm.”

Tony Novogrodski, defending the mother, said: “She loves her daughter. Unfortunately it came about that she got herself into a position where she couldn’t cope.

“She had been suffering from depression for a number of years. She had also received treatment for her mental health.”

Magistrates decided they did not have enough power to sentence the mum, so ordered her case be transferred to the crown court.