A WOMAN has admitted killing her three-year-old daughter after feeding her a lethal dose of methadone.

Toddler Natalia Mujahid died after she was poisoned by a dose of the heroin substitute at her home in Blackburn on April 19 last year.

Mother Taj Begum Ali, 24, gave her the lethal drug to keep her quiet when she became noisy.

She has since given birth to another child.

Ali, of Notre Dame Gardens, has pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter against Natalia and a further charge of administering poison.

Her husband, heroin addict Asad Mujahid, 27, has pleaded guilty to two charges of cruelty to a child.

Both appeared at Preston Crown Court and were remanded in custody. They will be sentenced by a high court judge next month.

Paramedics were called to a house in Notre Dame Gardens on April 18 where a crew found Asad Mujahid frantically attempting to resuscitate Natalia.

She was rushed to hospital and transferred from Blackburn Royal Infirmary to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital , Pendlebury, for treatment but died the same night.

Both parents were arrested and charged following the fatal overdose but were allowed out of custody for their daughter's funeral.

Hundreds of people congregated at the Randal Street mosque in Blackburn for the toddler's funeral where she was bathed and prepared for the journey to Pakistan, where she is buried.

Det Chief Insp Mick Turner, one of the two senior detectives involved in the case, said: "This child was an innocent victim and whatever perspective you have of the incident, it is a tragedy."

It is believed Ali worked for a packaging firm in Padiham before her arrest and Mujahid as an embroiderer for a textile firm.