Britain's youngest mum to fight for her

Aged just 12 years old, this is Britain's youngest mother holding her newborn baby

Aged just 12 years old, this is Britain's youngest mother holding her newborn baby. Still a child herself, the new parent's sunken, fearful eyes and inability to smile transform what should be a joyful moment into a desperately unsettling scene.

Iu00a0want her back: Tressa Middleton with her baby soon after her birth four years go

Tressa Middleton's pregnancy four years ago shocked the nation when she admitted having sex while drunk and spoke of her excitement at becoming a mother.

Now the Scot is 16 and fighting for the right to see her adopted daughter again, as the uneasy images of her holding her baby are shown for the first time.

Yesterday, she admitted spiralling into deep depression and turning to alcohol and drugs after the baby was born, when she found herself battling to keep the infant.

Quit drugs
Middleton said she has now quit drugs and alcohol and spoke of her regret at ever letting her baby go.

She told the Scottish Sun, "I'm not a big drinker now and I don't smoke hash any more. In the past I've cut myself but I don't do that any more. I'm going to give myself a couple of years to get my life sorted, then I'm going to fight for access to my little girl."

Foster care
When her daughter was born in 2006, the pair were taken into foster care. Eighteen months ago, a child psychologist decided it was in the best interests of the infant that she be adopted.

Middleton signed papers handing over her daughter to an anonymous couple who, when the adoption became official, decided that they did not want to allow the birth mother any access.

Her only contact is now a letter from the child's new parents every six months, updating her on the little girl's progress.

Middleton met the adoptive parents but wasn't allowed to know their names.

She said, "They seemed lovely, but I never wanted to let my daughter go. After I'd signed the adoption papers, I went to court to fight for twice-a-year contact. But the adoptive parents don't want me to see her. It makes me hate them."