Two young children, one of them just wearing a nappy, were found wandering the streets of Kelty in the darkness.

They were found by a passing motorist who stopped and took them to safety on a wet stormy night.

The incident resulted in 31-year-old Antonia Borthwick, of Keltyhill Avenue, Kelty, appearing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court admitting child neglect and keeping them in squalid conditions.

She was sleeping in bed as the three children left the house and was intoxicated when police woke her later.

She admitted that on February 3 last year, at her home, being a person with responsibility for caring for children then aged 3, 5 and 9 years old, she wilfully neglected them in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury.

She failed to get out of bed to care for their needs, caused them to live in insanitary conditions, failed to realise they were no longer in the premises and failed to ensure the youngest was fully clothed while outside.

Depute fiscal Amy Robertson said that initially the three children were in the house with Borthwick and a male, who were both in bed.

The eldest child went out of the house to go to the home of a friend, leaving the two younger ones behind.

Later, the three and five-year-old left the house to try to find the nine-year-old.

At 5pm a woman was driving in Kelty when she saw the two children walking in the street unaccompanied.

She stopped her car and saw there were no adults nearby. She approached the children who said the were looking for the older girl.

The youngest child was “only wearing a nappy, which was full of urine” added the depute.

When the woman asked where the adults were, the children said “upstairs sleeping”.

The woman took the children to the home of one of her relatives which was nearby and contacted the police.

By now, the nine-year-old had returned home and panicked when she saw the little ones were not there. She went to a neighbour and they went out looking for the youngsters.

The weather conditions at the time were described as “dark, wet and stormy” said the depute.

When police went to the Borthwick's home, they spoke to the nine-year-old who said the adults were sleeping.

The child and officers went to try and waken them but to no avail, initially.

Eventually, Borthwick got up and when told what happened, she swore and told her partner it was his fault, and then went back to bed.

Police officers described the condition of the house as being “in no fit state to live in” and “smelled of cigarettes and dog urine”.

Borthwick was described as being “heavily intoxicated” before going back to sleep.

When charged later she blamed the incident on “sleeping tablets that are too strong for me”.

Defence solicitor Heather Morrison said: “Matters came to a head on this day and mental health is the over-arching issue. Things had become too much for her.”

Sheriff Francis Gill told Borthwick: “This was a very serious act of neglect. It was your duty to care for them and you let them down.

“It was only because of the intervention of the woman that the outcome was not more serious.”

He imposed a community payback order with 165 hours of unpaid work.