'Disgraceful': Kelly Tollerton is led to a prison van from court

A mother who left her toddler son alone in a flooded kitchen for three days while she went out to party was jailed for 18 months yesterday.

Kelly Tollerton, 23, showed no emotion as a judge branded her 'deplorable and disgraceful' and said she was unfit to be a mother.

The two-year-old was forced to scavenge for food in a bin and sleep on a pile of dirty laundry while the single mother spent the weekend with her boyfriend.

Sentencing her, Recorder William Harbage QC said: 'It defies belief that any mother can treat her child in that way. In my opinion, you are not a fit mother.

'Your treatment of your young son was deplorable and disgraceful. Your parenting was woefully inadequate.

'Your conduct arouses feelings of horror and revulsion among all right-thinking people, particularly parents, most of whom must make considerable sacrifices in their lives for their children.

'The evidence shows you were more concerned with your social life than catering for his needs or caring for him. You were too selfish and lazy to look after him.'

During the trial, the jury at Lincoln Crown Court heard that the boy, who is now four and has 'emotional and behavioural difficulties', was discovered only when he turned a tap on and the water seeped into the flat downstairs.

Disgusting: The kitchen in which the toddler was left to rummage around in

Police, called in by neighbours, arrived to find a horrifying scene.

The little boy, wearing just a filthy vest and pants, had been shut in the kitchen with a baby gate and was standing barefoot shivering and cold in several inches of water.

Filth: The toddler was left in highly unhygienic conditions

Felicity Gerry, prosecuting, said: 'The boy was penned in that kitchen, scrabbling about in the rubbish bins, with food left on a plate for him  -  just like a dog.'

The harrowing discovery, in November 2006, came after six months of neglect, during which the boy, who cannot be named, was kept in the 'long-term filth' of the flat.

Squalor: The disgusting state in which the toddler was found

The jury heard his mother, a trainee beauty technician, abandoned her child so, in her own words, 'she could go out and party'.

Tollerton claimed she had arranged for a babysitter to look after the boy but a jury convicted her of child cruelty and perverting the course of justice.

Miss Gerry said: 'We've all been out on the town enjoying ourselves with our friends. But young mothers can't or shouldn't, because they have a responsibility. Once you have a baby you are responsible for it and have to bring it up.'

Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board is investigating a decision by social services to end involvement with the family.

The boy, who now lives with foster parents, has hearing difficulties and communicates through sign language.

Doctors are unable to tell whether his difficulties are due to autism or were brought on by his mother's treatment of him.