Wiltshire Police say that a Melksham mother who left her son to die in his cot failed in her duties as a parent.

Stacey Davis, 35, was jailed for two years on Thursday, December 1 at Salisbury Crown Court after pleading guilty to an offence of child cruelty.

She left her one year old son, Ethan Davis, alone in his cot for two hours with a fractured skull in 27C heat while she ran errands and visited a park.

READ MORE: Melksham mum left baby to die in searing heat as she visited park and went for car wash

A court heard that she then failed to check on him for a further half hour after returning home, before discovering him lifeless and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the Royal United Hospital on June 27, 2018.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker of the Major Crime Investigation Team paid his condolences to Ethan’s family and said that Davis had not fulfilled her duty as a mother.

He said: “I would like to offer my sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family of this young boy.

“Davis’ actions on the day her son died fell well below the duty she owed to him as his mother. She should have loved him, cared for him and put his welfare first, as any loving, doting parent would.

“It has been over four years since he died and I know that this has been an incredibly difficult time for everyone who knew and loved him.

“The investigation team have worked tirelessly on what has been a challenging and extremely upsetting case and their hard work has ensured it has now been followed through to its conclusion.”

Ethan’s cause of death remains unascertained, but prosecutor Simon Jones told the court that a post-mortem examination found that he had a 15cm skull fracture.

Davis told police that she had failed to take her son to hospital despite swelling, bruising and obvious distress after he fell out of a door and hit his head.

Forensic investigator Nicola Anderson also detected high levels of cannabis in Ethan’s hair which she said were consistent with Davis smoking the drug around her son regularly.

Judge Parkes KC said: "There is no evidence you or his father caused Ethan's death, no suggestion you did so.

''The sad fact is that you fell very seriously short of the duty owed to Ethan as his mother”.