Pokies addict left baby in car

A MUM left her crying one-year-old child locked in the car while she gambled on the pokies.

The 37-year-old mother left her baby girl locked in the parked car outside the MiHi Tavern, at Brassall, on February 5 for at least half an hour.

A witness found the sweaty, screaming and crying girl in the car, which had the front windows open only three centimetres, about 9.20pm.

The tavern's manager forcibly pushed the windows down so he could unlock the car and open the doors.

He then called on the tavern's PA system for the mother to attend the bar but no one came.

A short time later, the mum was seen rushing outside to her car.

The mother grabbed her daughter and argued with the witness and manager, claiming she had only been inside for a few moments.

When told it must have been longer as her baby was sweating, the mum argued her “baby sweats a lot”.

But a witness told the mother he had seen her playing the pokies for “at least half an hour”.

The mother walked back inside to collect her winnings while police arrived.

She was banned from the tavern by management.

The mother, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of her daughter, faced Ipswich Magistrates Court to plead guilty to leaving a child aged under 12 unattended. She was placed on probation for 18 months with no conviction recorded.

Defence barrister Kevin Rose said his client was a single mother with a long-term drug addiction to “ice” who now suffered from mental health issues.

Mr Rose said the mother had been prescribed Xanax for anxiety and depression but had taken “well over the prescribed dose” on that day.

“She attributes her behaviour to being completely confused and disoriented on the day,” he said.

Mr Rose said the defendant's mother now cared for the infant and his client had been the subject of involuntary mental health treatment orders.