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| Birmingham mother left children home alone to fly to Australia | Birmingham mother left children home alone to fly to Australia |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A mother-of-six who flew to Australia for six weeks 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 went to stay with a boyfriend on 2 January. | |
| 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. |
| 'Refused to fly home' | 'Refused to fly home' |
| 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 court heard the woman's flight was paid for by a man she met online. |
| On the day of her disappearance the woman, who is now pregnant with her seventh child, left the house at 17:00 GMT. Her son called his grandparents, who do not live in Birmingham, four hours later. They alerted police and social services, who arrived at the house at 01:00 the following day. | |
| The youngest of the children left at home was three years old. | The youngest of the children left at home was three years old. |
| The mother, a single parent, ignored messages from her parents and the police, deactivated her social media accounts and refused to fly home until her scheduled return six weeks later, the court heard. | The mother, a single parent, ignored messages from her parents and the police, deactivated her social media accounts and refused to fly home until her scheduled return six weeks later, the court heard. |
| She was arrested when she got back in February. | She was arrested when she got back in February. |
| 'Unaffected by experience' | 'Unaffected by experience' |
| The children are now living with their grandparents. | The children are now living with their grandparents. |
| John Smitheman, defending the woman, told the court they were thriving academically and unaffected by the experience. | John Smitheman, defending the woman, told the court they were thriving academically and unaffected by the experience. |
| He said the woman had been a good mother but had been in an abusive relationship. | He said the woman had been a good mother but had been in an abusive relationship. |
| He said the stress of bringing the children up alone had led to a "very unusual, almost unique circumstance". | He said the stress of bringing the children up alone had led to a "very unusual, almost unique circumstance". |
| The court was shown cards made by her children saying they were missing their mother. | The court was shown cards made by her children saying they were missing their mother. |
| Judge Creed said the children had been brought up in "a satisfactory and supportive way throughout their lives so far". | Judge Creed said the children had been brought up in "a satisfactory and supportive way throughout their lives so far". |
| "You've cared for them against a difficult background", he said. | "You've cared for them against a difficult background", he said. |
| "You didn't appreciate you'd done anything wrong and were not prepared to return." | "You didn't appreciate you'd done anything wrong and were not prepared to return." |