Devastating effect of drugs
to do. I didn’t want to get off the bus because I was afraid. I didn’t want to be on the street in case she came back or followed me.
“But it was my stop and I needed to get to the mother and baby group which was a safe place and phone the police from there.
“I didn’t want to stand on the street, I just wanted to get to safety.”
The mum added: “When I got to the group I just burst into tears and one of the ladies there called the police. They came in minutes and took my statement.”
And she revealed that on the bus journey home later that day, she spotted her attacker on the street and was able to alert police who then apprehended her.
She revealed: “People have said since that I should have hit her, but I have never hit anyone in my life.
“I’m not that sort of person. I’m just glad that I never take my eyes off my son.
“His buggy faces me so that I can see him at all times and he was well strapped in. Of course, I am very grateful to the bus driver.”
In court, Smith admitted attempting to snatch the eight-month-old. She was jailed for 18 months and placed under a supervision order for nine months after her release.
However, the mum doesn’t believe that was enough. She said: “She should have been given a longer sentence. What she did was serious.
“I cannot bear to think what would have happened if she had managed to get him.
“You hear of other people’s children being abducted and the worst case scenario is they are found dead somewhere.
“I didn’t know why she was trying to take him or what she was going to do with him. “She just seemed to snap. “I would like to know why she did it and why me. I would like her to say sorry even though I can never forgive her. And I hope she gets the help she needs. I’d hate to see this happen to any other family.”
Clearly still reeling from the incident, she added: “Others have said I should feel sorry for her but she is a grown woman who knew what she was doing.
“Other people have depression and suffer but don’t resort to attempting to abduct someone else’s child.”
The mum now hopes she can put the incident behind her.
She explained: “It’s been a tough year – after my son was born he was in the hospital neo-natal unit with a serious infection.
“The attempt to take him from me was terrifying. He is my world.
“But we will be celebrating his first birthday at the end of the month – a birthday he will have in the safety of his home with his mum and dad beside him.” PROFESSOR Sir Cary Cooper, a world-leading psychologist from Manchester University, gave his view on Smith’s actions.
He said: “This case is an extreme example but it just goes to show what lengths people will go to when they’ve taken drugs.
“Years of substance abuse can cause deep psychological problems.
“This can lead to people becoming irrational, even if in their previous lives they were perfectly rational human beings.
“We often see drug addicts who become desperate. They will do anything for money – even stealing from their own families. They also often begin acting aggressively towards others.
“Another problem with drugs is that it makes no difference whether you are rich or poor – they still have the same effect of wrecking people’s lives.”