A neglectful mother who let her bare-chested three-year-old son wander out of her flat while she was drunk in bed has avoided jail.

The mother, who pleaded guilty to two charges of neglect and cannot be named for legal reasons, was found lying comatose and naked face-down in her bed by two women passersby, who rescued the child and initially thought the mother was dead.

The mother was given a 12-month suspended sentence at Merton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, while social workers, probation workers and a GP were criticised for their response.

The mother, who is in her early 20s, denied having alcohol problems and said she was planning to go shopping that day. Defending, Scott Osbourne said the incident was “a one-off”.

He said: “She has made it clear to me she doesn’t drink at all. She can count on one hand the times she drinks.”

He added there was no evidence the children had been malnourished.

District judge Sheena Bayne criticised a Merton Council family support worker who told the mother it would be all right to bring her son to court in a pushchair when she was facing a prison sentence.

She also questioned a probation report that said the mother was not suffering from alcohol addiction or mental health issues.

Mrs Bayne said: “I find it absolutely astounding there are no alcohol issues. I am extremely concerned about the attitude of social services. I am not impressed by the probation report.

"It seems to me as if there is a lack of joined-up services particularly where social services are involved.”

The court heard the two boys were with their grandmother, but their mother was allowed unsupervised access to them with a view to future “repatriation”.

The mother left the court silently after the hearing.

The court heard the women alerted police, who arrived at the house in Wimbledon and found dog urine on the floor.

Police immediately gave both boys water to drink and one of the boys was picking up crushed food off the floor as the fridge was empty, the court heard.

Prosecuting, Marisha O’Gunleye, said the two women who rescued the boy were walking along the street at about 11am on June 29 this year.

She said: “They said they saw a young boy outside a block of flats on his own. He was bare-chested and at first they were alarmed he was covered in blood.

“It turned out to be red food dye. They also noticed his nappy was very heavy and he had his pyjama bottoms on.”

A neighbour recognised the boy and showed them to his flat, where the door was open.

The mother’s other son stretched his arms out for the women as they walked past his cot, the court heard.

On two other occasions, police had been called to the flat after sounds of a child crying hysterically for about an hour were seemingly ignored by their mother, the court heard.

When questioned by police, the mother said she had been drinking whisky the night before with a neighbour who fed her children.

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