A BRIDE-to-be left her two young sons home alone for two days while she flew to Paris to make arrangements to marry a man she met on the internet.

The Bradford woman left a pan of soup for the boys, aged 11 and six, and rang to see how they were getting on, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

She was arrested after the younger child told his teacher his mother was in France and he and his brother were at home on their own.

The woman, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the boys, pleaded guilty to neglecting her sons over a two-day period in March.

She was spared an immediate prison sentence after the court heard she was otherwise a good mother and her children were now back with her after a spell in foster care.

Prosecutor Philip Adams told the court the mother, who is her 30s, left home at 6am and intended to be back by midnight the following day.

She flew to Paris from Manchester Airport leaving the boys to attend school by themselves and stay at home overnight on their own.

Mr Adams said that when the six-year-old child told his teacher, the police were alerted.

The children were collected from their home and put in social services accommodation.

Their mother, who was told by a friend that the police were on to her, flew back early.

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She was arrested when she arrived back the following lunchtime.

The woman made full admissions to the police, telling them she went to Paris to make arrangements to marry.

She wanted her children to stay with a family friend while she was absent but they refused to go there and the older boy persuaded her that they could manage.

The woman said she left a large pan of soup for the boys and some money.

In mitigation, her solicitor advocate Tom Rushbrooke said: “This lady made a terrible mistake and she realises that now.”

She had been left to fend for herself as a child and was bringing up her sons to be resilient and to look after themselves, Mr Rushbrooke told the court.

“She is otherwise a very caring mother. They are well looked after, well fed and clothed,” he said.

The woman took documents to Paris to be processed before the wedding and she still wanted the marriage to go ahead. She now had passports for both her sons and would take them with her next time she travelled to France.

Her children were back with her from foster care and would be deeply affected if she went to prison, he added.

Sentencing the woman to a six month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, Judge Robert Bartfield told her that immediate custody would be destructive to her children as they had only recently returned from care to live with her.

He told her: “You put the boys in significant danger by leaving them alone.”

Judge Bartfield also ordered that she undertakes a rehabilitation activity requirement with the probation service.