Neglect woman is spared jail sentence

The charge indicated she left them in a property which was unclean and in a state of disarray, with dangerous medicine within their reach and a cat litter tray overflowing with excrement.

She also pled guilty to a further charge of shouting and screaming at her former partner David Elliott at a house at Dunbarney Avenue, Bridge of Earn, on December 15, 2017, and breaching bail on September 8 last year by sending social media voicemail messages to his mother, asking her to pass them on to him.

Mr Sweeney said that at the back of the house there were bin bags piled within the garden, to such an extent that officers described it as a “health hazard”, which could have caused a vermin infestation.

The court heard the youngsters had been left in the care of the teenager but he had been sleeping when a welfare visit was carried out at 9am by a public protection unit, accompanied by a detective constable.

They discovered the two kids walking in the hallway, with no adult supervision, and they had been “left to roam the property.”

It was only after “repeated knocking” that the officers were let in.

There was a lack of adequate food in the house and the dishwasher was full of dishes which appeared to have been there for a considerable period.

Solicitor Louisa Wade said her client had been supervised for the last nine months and that had been “of positive benefit to her.”

The community payback order would be a challenge and she asked for extra time to complete it.

A prosecution motion for a nonharassment order, banning Adams from contacting or approaching Mr Elliot, was rejected by the sheriff.