A MOTHER WHO left her three children in a car in temperatures of 40C has been handed down a community order.

Kelly Langham, 26, from Cumbria, UK, told the Carlisle Magistrates’ Court that she believed that she would only be away for a few minutes when she left her three children in the vehicle on 4 July. Langham, who has drug problem, instead became delayed in a queue inside a pawnbrokers for 45 minutes, reports the BBC.

Although Langham had left the windows slightly wound down the heat inside the car reached a dangerous temperature, the court heard. The distressed children, aged between two and eight, were only rescued when a passerby heard them repeatedly sounding the car horn and called the police.

Langham admitted to three counts of neglect and possession of amphetamines.

She was ordered to complete a one year community order and pay £50 costs, at a rate of £5 from her benefits over a period of time, the Telegraph reports.

The chairman of the bench Sally Metcalfe Gibson described the incident as a serious offence but added: “You are a person of good character with no previous convictions. You have had significant problems coping with the absence of your partner, three young children to care for, the lack of secure housing and your drug use”, reports the Guardian.