A MUM left her baby in the middle of the road in the freezing cold dressed in just a baby grow as she "couldn't cope", a court heard.
The abandoned infant was discovered by a motorist who spotted what looked like a foot sticking out of the side of a child seat as he drove after dark in Ripon, North Yorks.
The driver, 21-year-old Alex Wilson, pulled over and found the baby boy around three feet into the road at around 8.30pm on the November evening, when temperatures rose only just above freezing.
Prosecutor Danielle Gilmour said the seat was black and Mr Wilson could barely make it out as there were no street lights, the Mail Online reports.
"They became concerned about seeing the foot and made the decision to go back and look," she told York Crown Court.
"The carrier was still in the road."
Police later found the mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, "looking pale, unwell and crying".
When asked if she had left the baby in the road, the 26-year-old told cops: "I couldn't cope, so I left him for two minutes."
You did something that was unimaginable to any parent… It was only due to the care of Mr Wilson that no harm came to (the baby) but it could have been so, so different
CCTV footage showed the mother putting the carrier down at the junction and walking off just minutes before the baby was discovered by Mr Wilson.
The woman has a long-term drug problem, the court heard.
Judge Andrew Stubbs, QC, described the offence as a "shocking example of neglect".
"You did something that was unimaginable to any parent," he said.
"It was only due to the care of Mr Wilson that the carrier seat was recovered and no harm came to (the baby) but it could have been so, so different."
The parent admitted a charge of abandoning a child and causing the child's life to be endangered but avoided a jail sentence.
Judge Stubbs said leaving a "young and helpless child" would normally come with a custodial sentence, but he suspended it as the mum was committed to tackling her drugs habit.
The court also ordered the woman to participate in a 30-day rehabilitation programme.
Mr Wilson was commended for his "public-spirited" actions and awarded £250 from public funds.
Speaking after the case, the joiner said: "It was literally a child in a carrier, in the middle of the road.
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"It was a completely black carrier and the only reason I saw it was because the boy had a lighter-coloured onesie on."
He said he'd have "gone straight over the baby" if he hadn't changed directions at the last minute to go and pick up his friend.
"You don't just leave a baby in the middle of a road," he added.
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