A MOTHER who had been drinking woke up to find her two-and-a-half-month-old baby dead in her bed, an inquest found.

Amy Leigh Howell, of Deepdale Road, Breightmet, had been drinking at her home with partner, Blessing Mayo.

The inquest at Bolton Coroners Court was told that the exact circumstances of the death remain unknown, but the baby boy, Teneil, had died after being suffocated ‘by a sleeping adult’.

The hearing was told Miss Howell had put Teneil into a Moses basket in her bedroom at 11pm before continuing drinking downstairs, on the evening of December 29 last year.

The pair headed to bed themselves at about 1.30am and awoke the following morning to find the unresponsive youngster lying between them.

Both Miss Howell and Mr Mayo said they were unaware of how the baby had got there, but the inquest found he had died following suffocation caused by a sleeping adult.

After recording an open verdict, the assistant coroner issued a warning about parents sleeping with young infants.

The inquest heard that Teneil’s father had been deported to Nigeria prior to his birth and had never seen the child.

Following his deportation, Miss Howell had started drinking and co-sleeping with her baby.

A health visitor told the inquest she had expressed concerns to Miss Howell about co-sleeping and warned her of the risks associated with doing so.

Miss Howell had recently met Mr Mayo online and he had stayed at her house a number of times over the Christmas period.

The court heard how on the evening of December 29, the pair were drinking vodka and put Teneil into the Moses basket at 11pm.

They continued drinking and checked on the youngster ‘every 10 to 15 minutes’.

Miss Howell, who told the court she rarely drank, described herself as being ‘smashed’ by the time she went to bed.

The next thing she recalled was being awoken by Mr Mayo shouting that the baby was in bed and not responding.

Miss Howell took the baby and turned the light on. She told the court: “As soon as the light was on I knew he was dead.”

An ambulance was called while Miss Howell attempted to administer CPR in an attempt to resuscitate the baby.

Teneil was admitted to the Royal Bolton Hospital at 8.04am, but was pronounced dead 13 minutes later.

Dr Philip Lumb, a forensic pathologist, told the court he had found four fractured ribs which appeared to have been caused by overlaying – accidental suffocation of an infant from a sleeping adult.

He concluded that the fractures appeared to have been sustained in the lead up to his death.

He also found evidence to suggest Teneil had been ‘lay on his front in contact with fabric’.

Police officers questioned both Miss Howell and Mr Mayo following the incident, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute due to a lack of evidence.

Recording an open conclusion, assistant coroner Susan Duncan said: “Despite warnings of the risks of overlay, the evidence has shown that Teneil was found in the middle of his mother’s bed between her and her partner. Both Teneil’s mother and her partner have confirmed that Teneil was put to sleep in his Moses basket.

“However, it remains unclear how Teneil came to be in his mother’s bed and who put him there. Therefore, the exact circumstances remain unknown.

“I accept that the most likely explanation, on the balance of probabilities, is overlay by an adult whilst sleeping.”

She added: “This is clearly a tragic loss of a very young life and I’m mindful of the suffering for the family, however, Teneil’s death highlights the risks associated with infants co-sleeping with an adult, particularly where the adult has a reduced awareness.

“I hope the publicity touching this tragic death will alert parents to the impact of not sleeping with an infant.”