A mum who lost control of her daughter's buggy after drinking six pints has admitted being drunk in charge of the five-month-old baby.
She was seen pushing the pram in Wrexham but was unsteady on her feet and lost control when she walked down some steps.
The woman struggled back to her feet, but had to be helped by officers when she was taken to a police car.
A court heard today that the baby had immediately been taken into care and was now with foster parents.
But the mother was having supervised contact and hoping to get her baby back by the end of the month.
At North East Wales Magistrates' Court at Mold, the 23-year-old woman from the Wrexham area admitted that, on October 1, she was drunk in charge of her child.
She was warned that immediate custody was justified, but was placed on a 12-month community order with 20 days rehabilitation and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £90 surcharge.
Read More
Top Stories
District Judge Gwyn Jones told her that she had gone out drinking with friends on a Tuesday, which was not something even hardened drinkers did.
The court heard that, by her own admission, she had at least six pints, which indicated that her drinking was "totally and utterly out of control".
The judge said: "I am sure people may not be able to comprehend why you would go out drinking with friends when you had a child with you.
"However, you will have to pay the price of your binge drinking.
"The child has been properly removed from your care and you are going to have to show social services that she can be safely returned to you."
Prosecutor Rhian Jackson said security staff at Tesco alerted police that there was a woman unsteady on her feet and in a drunken condition with a pushchair in Crescent Road.
CCTV staff were alerted and she was seen going down steps, but she fell to the floor and the pram tipped backwards.
She struggled to her feet and, when police approached, she said she just wanted to go home.
The defendant smelt of intoxicants and the baby was under a blanket but exposed to rain, the court heard.
She had to be helped into a police car and would have fallen but for the support of an officer.
On arrival at the police station, she picked the baby up without support and her head went back.
Interviewed, she said that she went out to do Christmas shopping, met up with friends for lunch, and ended up having six pints.
Defending solicitor Emma Simoes said: "She is extremely ashamed of herself.
"She has paid the ultimate price with her daughter being taken into care for the last two weeks."
Probation officer Andrew Connah said the defendant had not expected to drink as much as she did, and her own mother was very disappointed but supportive of her.
The defendant claimed not to be a dependent drinker and would normally go out once or twice a week while her mother looked after the baby.
But, following a hair strand test, social services were concerned that perhaps her alcohol consumption was more than she was prepared to disclose.
