Drunk mother guilty of cruelty after child's death

Natasha Birks, 37, of Longton, is due to be sentenced in December

A mother who drank vodka while looking after her five-month old baby who died has been convicted of child cruelty.

Natasha Birks, 37, of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, was two and a half times above the legal drink-drive limit while looking after Rhian in November 2021, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. She had failed to notice her daughter's deterioration.

"Although she did not cause her child's death or foresee this devastating outcome, her level of intoxication meant she could not provide the supervision Rhian needed," a spokesman for the service said.

Birks was convicted at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Wednesday following a trial. She will be sentenced on 19 December.

The drink-drive limit in England and Wales is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

Rhian had been fine throughout the afternoon when Birks fed her a bottle at about 18.30 GMT, the CPS said.

After the baby fell asleep during feeding, she was placed on a sofa downstairs while Birks put her older child to bed upstairs.

With both children asleep, Birks and a friend who was visiting opened a full bottle of vodka, ahead of Birks's birthday the next day.

The pair consumed large quantities of vodka mixed with orange juice and Irish cream liqueur in a separate room from where Rhian was sleeping.

Birks ate nothing to counteract the alcohol's effects and left the house several times to smoke cigarettes, according to the CPS.

The prosecution's case was Birks only briefly observed her daughter from a dining room doorway rather than checking on her properly.

She did not notice her daughter failed to wake for her usual morning feed and she did not notice her deterioration in health.

When ambulance crews arrived, they noted signs of rigor mortis which indicated Rhian may have been dead for some time.

"Natasha Birks chose to drink heavily while responsible for her five-month-old baby who was entirely dependent on her," said Elaine Radway of the CPS.

"The law holds parents accountable for the safety and wellbeing of their children, and as we have seen in this case, there are serious consequences when parents fail in their fundamental duty to protect vulnerable children.

"Our thoughts remain with all those affected."