The Oldham Evening Chronicle has won the right to name a woman who left her three-year-old daughter home alone, after it persuaded a judge to overturn a section 39 order.

The newspaper argued that because of the serious nature of the crime it was in the public interest to name the mother, and to maintain her anonymity would make reporting the case impossible.

The order, made under the Children and Young Person’s Act 1933, was imposed on the case during the first magistrates’ court hearing and prevented the paper from naming the three-year-old girl or any facts that would leading to her identification – including the names of her parents.

But the Chronicle argued that it would only serve to protect the mother – and that it had no intention of naming her daughter.

It argued that at three years old, the child would not be aware of publicity and would not be adversely affected.

District judge Huw Edwards agreed to overturn the order.

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