Mother admitted taking cocaine and boozing with friends before her four-month-old baby daughter died after sleeping in her bed, inquest hears

• Francesca Purssell was found critically ill at her home in Solihull in April last year 

A mother admitted taking cocaine and drinking with friends before her four-month-old daughter died after sleeping in her bed, an inquest has heard. 

Baby Francesca Purssell was found critically ill at a property in Solihull on April 2, 2022, and died later that morning at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham. 

Her mother, Lesley Purssell, told police she had been socialising with friends until about 11.30pm the night before on April 1. 

Ms Purssell said she woke up at 4am and took Francesca from her Moses basket to feed her before falling asleep with the baby lying on her chest, an inquest heard on Wednesday. 

The inquest returned an open verdict, the BBC reported, with senior coroner Louise Hunt unable to precisely record how the four-month-old passed away. 

Baby Francesca Purssell was found critically ill at a property in Solihull on April 2, 2022, and died later that morning at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham

Ms Purssell was woken up by her new partner around three and a half hours after falling asleep, the inquest heard, after he could not see the baby in her Moses basket. 

He then pulled back the covers to find Francesca blue, cold and face down in the bed.  

Emergency services were called but a human error while a call handler gave CPR instructions meant paramedics arrived after around 25 minutes. 

Ms Purssell was arrested on suspicion of child neglect, Detective Inspector James Edmonds said, after a multi-agency investigation began. 

Mr Edmonds added that Ms Purssell told officers she had been drinking orange gin and lemonade before falling asleep with Francesca. 

She was re-interviewed in November last year and given toxicology reports before admitting to have taken cocaine the night her baby died. 

A post mortem examination was inconclusive and recorded an open verdict. 

Mr Edmonds added that the case was presented to the Crown Prosecution Service but there was insufficient evidence to charge Ms Purssell.  

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