Mum 'left baby in car while she played pokies'

A Whangarei mother has been charged after allegedly leaving her 10-month-old baby boy alone in a car while she played pokie machines in a hotel bar.

The alarm was raised after a member of the public rang police about 3.15pm yesterday after spotting the distressed baby in a locked car in the central city, the Northern Advocate reported.

Police found the 21-year-old mother across the road in Shunters Bar, where staff reported she had been playing the pokie machines for at least an hour.

The woman is due to appear in Whangarei District Court later this month.

- NZPA