A mother hid her baby girl in a drawer to keep her a secret from her partner and other children for three years.

COURT HEARD

The little girl had ‘never known daylight or fresh air’ until she was found weeks before her third birthday by the woman’s partner when he returned to the house one morning to use the toilet after the mother had left.

The toddler, who had been fed milky Weetabix via a syringe, was so severely malnourished that she had the appearance of a seven-month-old infant.

She had been left to ‘fend for herself’ without food for long periods of time, and did not respond to her own name. She was found with matted hair, deformities, rashes, a cleft pallet and other medical issues for which her mother had not sought out medical advice or care.

She was left alone when her mother stayed with relatives at Christmas, and had never been given a birthday or Christmas present. 

The mother admitted child cruelty and was jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

The mother, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her children, concealed the baby’s presence by hiding her in the drawer of her divan bed and kept her secret from her partner, who often stayed at the house. 

The judge ruled the mother cannot be identified to protect the victim’s identity – a common restriction in child protection cases.

The offences took place from around the start of 2020 until 2023, when a visitor discovered the child after hearing her cry.