Police officer found mum passed out next to her baby and surrounded by drugs

The child was taken into police protection after officers encountered the ‘heartbreaking’ scene, with the woman arrested on suspicion of child neglect and possession of a controlled drug.

A South Yorkshire Police officer tweeting as @SmoggieCop described on Saturday, September 19, how he and his colleagues were horrified by what they found after being called to the property.

"Entry forced into an address with concerns for a baby Mother passed out in bed with baby,” he wrote.

"No clothes. No food. No carpets. No duvet. Drugs left lying around the house. Baby taken into police protection and mother arrested for child neglect. Heartbreaking.”

The tweet received more than 1,000 likes on Twitter, with scores of people expressing their sadness, their hopes of a brighter future for the baby and mother, and their concerns about the emotional toll on the officers who found them.

Responding to their messages, the officer thanked them for their kind words and support, which he said ‘means the world’.

“It’s a very difficult and draining job, but we have to keep our head up and stay strong for that baby,” he wrote, adding that the child was ‘safe and in the right care now’.

A spokeswoman for the force said: “The baby has now been safeguarded. The mother was arrested on suspicion of child neglect and possession of a controlled drug. She has since been bailed pending further enquiries. An investigation is ongoing.”