A WOMAN who left a two-year-old child alone in squalid conditions, has been jailed for three months.

Nompilo Ncube, 33, was sentenced after St Helens Magistrates’ Court heard the girl had been abandoned for more than three hours at an address in Clock Face.

The child was rescued when a neighbour smashed down the front door of the house after hearing her desperate screams.

He had been walking home at about 7.30pm on November 26 when he noticed the house was in darkness and the child was crying.

After 15 minutes he returned to see if any lights were on, but it was still pitch black.

Prosecutor Angela Blackmore said that after making inquiries with other neighbours, he saw the child, who was extremely distressed, standing in the front window.

She said: “As he approached the window the child appeared to calm down and when he moved away, she became distressed.

“He then forced open the front door. Inside there was excrement on the floor and a strong smell of urine. He said it was unacceptable for a child to live there.

“There were also knives on the sideboard and the electricity and gas meters were exposed. The child was taken from the premises and police were called. The defendant was contacted and instructed to return home, which she did around 10.20pm.”

Ncube, who is due to appeal against her sentence before a judge at Liverpool Crown Court tomorrow, was arrested and admitted leaving the house between 7pm and 8pm.

She said she had gone to see an estate agent at St Helens Junction rail station, and accepted that the state of the property posed a health risk to the child.

Ncube said she had intended to leave the child for just a short time, and the tot was asleep when she left.