A woman left four children alone overnight in a stinking flat without enough food and drink, a court heard.
Nicole Stewart, 33, neglected the youngsters at the property in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire.
Officers were first alerted on November 21, 2020 following a bogus 999 call the children made while Stewart was at a hospital, reports GlasgowLive.
Police returned in October 2021 after a noise complaint only to find a similar scene with evidence also of drug taking.
A narrative of the facts handed to a sheriff stated that the children were found to be "unclean and dirty" wearing only shorts or pants.
The flat was deemed to be in a "state of disarray", with the only food available bread and jam and the kids had not been fed that morning.
The narrative went on to say: "The kitchen area was thereafter entered by police.
"They observed the kitchen floor to be covered with overflowing bin bags, a bag of empty glass vodka bottles and liquid spillage in the middle of the floor.
"There was an open cupboard door, which was piled high and overflowing with dirty washing, which was falling out the door and onto the floor area."
A number of open bottles of strong alcohol - vodka, peach schnapps, liqueur shots - were discarded on the kitchen counter.
The sheriff was told: "Further to this, there was a rolled £10 bank note, which suggested there was possible drug misuse at some point."
The kitchen sink was piled high with dirty dishes, some of which had lumps of mould, suggesting they had been lying for some time.
One bedroom was found without a working light and the bunks had no sign of adequate bedding.
The room - in which the kids slept in - was also noted to be smelly.
Stewart's bedroom meantime was found to have hair straighteners plugged in as well as a smashed mirror sitting against a wall.
A kitchen knife and a large amount of clothing were lying on the floor. The mattress was also dirty.
The narrative said: "The bathroom was very unclean and appeared it had not been cleaned in some time."
Stewart pled guilty to two separate neglect charges between November 19 2020 and October 10 2021 at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Diana McConnell spared Stewart jail and ordered instead to do 100 hours of unpaid work.
She said: "You need to reflect on these criminal offences and the choices you have made.
"If you fail to comply with this order, you will be back to the beginning, this is a direct alternative."
