A MOTHER whose baby daughter drowned after she was left alone in the bathtub for ten minutes has had her ‘unduly lenient’ jail sentence increased by 18 months.

Jasmine Gregory, 24, sobbed as she was jailed in November for the manslaughter of her 14-month old daughter Robyn Andrews-English.

The mother had left her baby unattended in the adult sized bath for ten minutes at her home in Kents Row, Grove, near Wantage on August 7 2014.

The court heard how Gregory had swigged two pints of cider and forgotten about her baby daughter as she did the washing up.

Robyn was found unresponsive and rushed to the John Radcliffe Hospital but was declared dead the same day.

Gregory was sentenced in November to three years in prison after a six-day trial.

In a dramatic turn at the Court of Appeal yesterday three judges agreed with the Attorney General that the three-year sentence had been unduly lenient and substituted a term of four and a half years, an increase of 18 months.

Lady Justice Rafferty, sitting with Mrs Justice Elisabeth Lain and Mr Justice Fraser, said that Gregory, who has a personality disorder, had ignored a warning not to leave a child unattended and instruction on safe bathing technique.

She also lacked the ‘powerful mitigation’ of a plea.

Gregory started to follow the appeal proceedings from jail by videolink but had to stop when she became too distressed.

The decision comes two months after a jury of eight women and four men unanimously convicted Gregory of manslaughter after less than two hours deliberating.

At Oxford Crown Court Judge Ian Pringle QC had told Gregory that the tragedy could have been avoided.

He said: “I do not underestimate the loss that you feel and the loss that you are always going to feel but also don’t underestimate the loss of so many others.

“What you did was so wholly wrong and atrocious.

“No prison sentence that I pass will ever compensate for the loss of that little girl.”

Gregory, who was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge, had signed and agreed a care plan with Oxfordshire County Council just two months before Robyn’s death, vowing to ‘appropriately supervise’ her at all times.

The NSPCC also condemned Gregory and blasted her ‘clear refusal’ to take responsibility.

Investigating officer detective constable Andy Matheson, from the child abuse investigation unit based in Cowley, said: “Jasmine Gregory has never given a full account to police or others of what happened that day and so this has meant Robyn’s extended family -  grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins - will never really know what led to her death.

“I am pleased for the family that the sentence has been increased and reflects the severity of the offence.

“This prosecution was a result of a many different agencies working together including medical professionals, social services, CPS and the police and I would like to thank all those who helped bring this case to its conclusion.”