A mother whose baby fell from a window as she slept off a drink and drugs session has been spared jail.

The 31-year-old woman was told by a judge: “You have to live with the fact that your little girl was injured in this way through an act of negligence on your part.

“I suspect, despite your apparent minimising of these events, that is a substantial burden for you to bear.

“You also have to live with the fact that in all probability you will not have custody of your child, although you will no doubt oppose the proposed adoption procedure.”

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, denied neglect at her trial last month, but was convicted.

She was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months with supervision.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the 18-month-old toddler suffered a fractured skull in the fall from flats in Station Road, Rainham, on August 5 last year.

The mother said she had put her daughter in her bed with her after her boyfriend left for work that morning.

But the girl crawled through an open window and was seen spinning around in the air.

Her fall was partly broken by a shop awning and striking a pensioner before hitting the pavement.

As well as a fractured skull, she had a bleed on the brain and surgeons at King’s College Hospital in London had to make a 7cm cut to her skull to remove a blood clot.

The child was transferred to Medway Maritime Hospital four days later and has since made a full recovery.

When police searched the property, traces of amphetamines were found in the kitchen.

The mother admitted dabbling with the drug, but denied she had taken it the night before the accident.

“You have to live with the fact that your little girl was injured in this way through an act of negligence on your part" - Judge Jeremy Carey

But Judge Jeremy Carey said when she appeared for sentence today: “I am quite sure the amphetamine found in your kitchen you had taken, as tests carried out after your arrest plainly showed.

“I find that is highly material.”

The judge did not allow that evidence to go before the jury.

It was also revealed that the child had been seen on the ledge of the open window a few days earlier by horrified nurse Karen Kent as she passed by.

“I felt quite sick because I thought she would fall,” she said later.

She went into a nearby fishing tackle shop to get help. When she went back out the girl had crawled back in to safety.

Anne-Marie Talbot, defending, said the mother had the threat of a prison sentence hanging over her for more than a year.

“She has had the knowledge and stress of knowing her daughter needed surgery,” she continued.

“It is extremely fortunate she does not appear to have shown any lasting effects.”

The woman had moved to two-bedroom accommodation which had suitable window locks and was being allowed weekly visits to see her daughter.

But she was in debt and could not afford to pay for gas, electric and her rent.

She was on employment support allowance of £72 a week and had not worked because she was awaiting the outcome of the case.

“She moved into this place to provide a secure place for her daughter,” said Miss Talbot.

“Now, she is told she won’t get her daughter back because of this fateful day.”