A Bristol mother who allowed her young daughter to live in "squalor" has been handed a suspended jail term.

The 24-year-old woman, who we are not naming to protect the identity of the child, neglected the infant so badly she lived in dirty clothes, slept in a dirty bed and suffered urinary infections and bad breath, Bristol Crown Court heard.

And though the child's teachers noted her poor condition, nothing was done about it until police received an allegation the girl had been sexually abused – which was not pursued.

The mother, who has mental health problems, pleaded guilty to causing cruelty to a child.

Imposing a 52-week jail term, suspended for two years, Judge Carol Hagen told her: "This is an extremely difficult case to deal with. I have read the papers and I have seen what (the girl) had to suffer.

"No child, let alone a small child, should be forced to endure that. Others noticed her condition and nothing was done to put that suffering to an end.

"It's plain you had enormous difficulties and I have read a letter from your grandmother which speaks of your side; the death of your mother also had a profound effect on you."

The woman was given two years' supervision and made the subject of a four-month curfew in which she must stay at home from 7pm to 7am.

She was prohibited from having unsupervised contact with her daughter for two years, told to receive medical treatment as directed by her doctor and ordered to comply with any directions given from her supervising probation officer.

Ian Fenny, prosecuting, said the girl was born in 2002 and her mother had faced a number of problems up until the birth.

He said: "Since the birth of (the girl) those problems have continued.

"She has struggled to accept life as an adult, she has never bonded with her daughter and she has continued to behave as a troubled, selfish adolescent."

Mr Fenny said the woman could had neither the interest nor ability to cope with motherhood.

He told the court that evidence had been gleaned from the woman's friend as well as her estranged partner and his new partner.

Mr Fenny said: "It's quite clear that the child was expected to live in squalid conditions, unsuitable for any human being.

"She was dirty, unkempt, with filthy, inadequate clothes.

"Her bed was dirty and there were obvious health risks. This child was clearly neglected and her persistent urinary infections must have been distressing in the extreme to the child. Her dental hygiene was poor, leaving her with pronounced halitosis; she was a bedraggled, filthy, neglected child."

The court heard the child had since been placed in the care of her father and step-mother was "reasonably fit and well".

Catherine Spedding, defending, conceded it was a tragic case but said there was another side to the story.

She said: "(The girl) was well cared for whilst my client's mother was alive.

"Things rapidly deteriorated after her mother died. The picture was a young woman trying to cope in the aftermath of a very upsetting bereavement, who has her ups and downs and by no means deliberately these matters have occurred."

Ms Spedding said it was clear her client loved her daughter but accepted she had fallen far short of caring for her in an acceptable way.

She said her client had underlying features of depression, was on medication and doctors concluded she had some kind of disorder.

Detective Constable Patrick Scofield, the police officer in charge of the case, said: "What the child suffered was undoubtedly neglectful and cruel and the sentence has reflected the gravity and seriousness of how the child was ill-treated."