A HUNGRY toddler - wearing just a heavily soiled nappy, slippers and a T-shirt - crossed a busy main road to hunt for food as her mother lay in bed after a boozing session.

At Preston Crown Court yesterday, Judge Graham Knowles blasted the mother, saying her daughter could have been knocked down and killed.

The hearing was told how the three-year-old, whose hair was greasy and knotted, went into a Rawlinson Street shop at 8am on New Year's Eve because there was no food in the house.

Her nappy was so full it was hanging down to her knees.

The shopkeeper, who knew the little girl, took her home, but could not rouse her mum, and when a large dog came into the living room, took the toddler back to her shop and called the police.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been given a caution for being too drunk to take care of her daughter when she was seven months old.

She pleaded guilty to child neglect in this matter.

Police found the mother in bed, asleep, and smelling of booze.

The house was untidy and also smelled of alcohol, the court heard.

She was arrested and officers changed the little girl into a fresh nappy and clothing suitable for the winter weather, before calling her grandmother to collect her.

The woman admitted her daughter was able to open the front door and said she had been entertaining the previous night and had forgotten to secure it.

The shopkeeper said she knew the girl and her mum, telling police the mother was a regular visitor who had been buying increasing amounts of wine over recent months.

The court heard the woman had suffered a degree of post-natal depression and had been struggling since separating from her children's father.

Judge Graham Knowles, sentencing, said it was a case of "significant" neglect, telling the woman: "You know that what could have happened to your daughter is that she was knocked down and killed.

"You were asleep in bed, not roused by people knocking and banging when things had gone wrong. You smelled of drink in the morning, you had too much to drink the night before and you hadn't put the chain on the door.

"You knew if you didn't secure it she could get out. She got out because she was hungry or perhaps she just wanted a grown-up to help.

"It's a great mercy she made it to the shop, where she was met with kindness, decency and care."

He handed her a six-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

He also placed her on a curfew for three months from 7pm to 7am and ordered her to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.