Ghanaian mother who left children home alone is granted bail

A woman questioned by police after leaving her three children at home alone while she went abroad has been released on bail.

The woman, who has not been named, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of child abandonment and neglect.

Police said three children, aged 13, 10 and eight, were found in a house in Peterborough, on Monday, and are now the subject of a care order.

The woman is due to return to Thorpe Wood police station on 10 November.

On Wednesday the mother, who is originally from Ghana but is now a German citizen told the BBC she had been in constant touch with the children while she was away through her 13-year-old daughter.

"She is a good girl and very capable. I am a good parent too," she said.

"I had to go to Germany to collect some belongings I had left there and bring them back to Peterborough where I now live."

Sheila Smith, of Peterborough Children's Services, said it was too early to say when the children would be reunited with their mother.

"But in fact the law does not specify an age under which children can be left alone.

"However, parents can be charged and prosecuted for neglect if they are left and they come to harm."

Source:  BBC