Little Charlotte Jones was found crying in a darkened wood near her home after a 20-hour ordeal last November. Police said at the time that, had she not been found, she would not have survived much longer.

Her mother, Michelle Jones, 24, from the Dallam area of Warrington, was charged with child abandonment and grievous bodily harm with intent and will be sentenced on Friday.

When Charlotte first disappeared, her mother reported her missing and there were fears that the little girl had been abducted. The resulting search involved local volunteers, forensic experts and divers.

The little girl was eventually found by police officers sitting among brambles in the middle of the wood in Burtonwood, Warrington, shivering and distressed, but apparently unharmed.

She was still wearing the purple bubble coat and Dalmatian-patterned leggings that she was wearing when she first disappeared.

Charlotte, who was hospitalised after her ordeal due to exposure and minor scratches, is now in the care of the local authority.