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| Birmingham mother left children home alone to fly to Australia | Birmingham mother left children home alone to fly to Australia |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A mother-of-six who flew to Australia after telling her son she was going to the supermarket has been given a suspended jail sentence. | A mother-of-six who flew to Australia after telling her son she was going to the supermarket has been given a suspended jail sentence. |
| The Birmingham woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, left her 14-year-old son in charge when she left to stay with a boyfriend. | The Birmingham woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, left her 14-year-old son in charge when she left to stay with a boyfriend. |
| The teenager called his grandparents, who alerted authorities. | The teenager called his grandparents, who alerted authorities. |
| She pleaded guilty to six counts of wilful abandonment at Birmingham Crown Court. | She pleaded guilty to six counts of wilful abandonment at Birmingham Crown Court. |
| Children 'unaffected' | |
| Sentencing her to a six month prison sentence suspended for two years, Judge Murray Creed said it was "plainly a serious matter". | |
| The court heard the woman's flight was paid for by a man she met online. | |
| The mother, a single parent, ignored messages from her parents and the police, refusing to fly home until her scheduled return six weeks later, the court heard. | |
| She was arrested when she got back in February. | |
| The children, the youngest of which is three years old, are now living with their grandparents. | |
| John Smitheman, defending the woman, told the court they were thriving academically and unaffected by the experience. |