A mum who left five of her eight kids – including a nine-month-old baby – home alone while she went clubbing for 12 hours has been slapped with a fine after also admitting drink-driving.

The mother claimed she had tried to arrange a babysitter, but when the 17-year didn’t show up she went out on the town anyway, leaving the children – the oldest of whom was 11 – to fend for themselves.

The 34-year-old mum appeared at Townsville Magistrates' Court in Queensland, Australia, yesterday (October 17) to plead guilty to a string of offences.

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These included leaving a child under 12, stealing, unauthorised dealing with shop goods, and driving over the general alcohol limit, reports the Townsville Bulletin.

The court heard that the alarm was sounded after a neighbour found a toddler outside on her own in the morning. The youngster had got out of the house after one of the older kids had left a door open.

Police prosecutor Erin Collis said the woman was also charged with stealing food from a supermarket and a T-shirt from another shop, while she’d been on bail.

In mitigation, Darryn Casson said his client had suffered a “traumatic upbringing” without her own parents, had mental health issues and had been homeless.

He said the mother had tried to organise the babysitter for the evening but “unfortunately didn't follow through”.

Mr Casson added that she had been “in a rush” on the day she committed the theft and had “paid for some items”.

The court was told that the woman had no previous drink-driving offences.

Acting magistrate Scott Luxton said that leaving the five kids on their own for a “considerable period of time” was a “serious charge”.

He added: “It was good fortune rather than good management that none of those children suffered any harm as a result of your actions.”

She was fined the equivalent of nearly £1,000 and disqualified from driving for a month.

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