young sons home alone.

But Dollene Simmons, 33, of Pembroke, claimed she thought her two children, aged ten and six, were being cared for by her boyfriend.

Senior Magistrate Will Francis heard how Simmons had left her two sons at home at about 7.30. p.m. on the evening of October 8 last year to spend the evening with a girlfriend.

Although her boyfriend, Marco Bowen, arrived home a short time after, he then went back out. When he returned in the early hours of the following morning and found that Simmons was still not back, he took the children to Hamilton Police Station.

Representing Simmons, Victoria Pearman, explained how her client did not realise that the children would be unsupervised.

"She did in fact make arrangements to ensure that Bowen would be returning to the residence within about half an hour,'' she said.

"The question arises as to whether she ought to have waited until Bowen arrived.

"But my client had made arrangements to be elsewhere and spoke to Bowen and he said he would be home by 8 p.m. and so she left the residence.

"When she arrived she had contact with a friend who told her that she had just telephoned her residence and had spoken to Bowen who was looking after the children.

"It's clear that she didn't make specific arrangements for the children but Bowen resided at the house so there was no question of hiring a babysitter.'' Ms Pearman went on to say that the relationship between Simmons and her boyfriend was going through a rough patch at the time and they had since split up.

Bowen was given a conditional discharge for leaving the children alone when he appeared before Mr. Francis last October.

Ordering Simmons to be bound over for 12 months in the sum of $400, Mr.

Francis said: "I accept that you failed to realise that your former boyfriend would have done as he did.

"But I would say that you slipped up in your duty as a mother. With young children you need to check, double check and even triple check with them.

"But I think you have been punished enough and I am going to assume that I will never hear from you again as far as these children or any children are concerned.''