Birmingham Crown Court heard today how she left her 14 year old son to care for his five younger siblings, one who was just three years old.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, cruelly told him she was leaving the house to visit the shop but never returned.
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Luckily, the young boy called his grandparents four hours later after becoming worried. They later alerted the police.
In court, prosecutor Patrick Sullivan said: “She stayed with her boyfriend, who wired her flight money through Western Union. Police were alerted when the teenager called his grandparents who dialled 999.
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“Officers sent to the mother's address found the children in a house which was warm but dirty. There were a number of cats and the property smelled of animal urine.”
Despite attempts by the police and her family she refused to cut short her holiday and stayed in Australia.
When she finally returned in February this year she was arrested and was today handed a six month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after she pleaded guilty to six counts of wilful abandonment.
She was spared jail by Judge Murray Creed because she is pregnant with her seventh child.
Heartbreakingly, the court were shown cards drawn by her children. One read simply. “we miss you mummy.”
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