A YOUNG mum who killed her baby after hearing voices telling her to throw the little girl into the canal was today sent to a secure mental unit.

And Preston Crown Court heard how Rabina Hashim, who had a history of mental problems and a conviction for hitting another two-month-old child, should, in hindsight, never have been released from the hospital where she was receiving treatment before the tragic death.

The court heard Hashim, 30, of Clare Street, Burnley, knew full well that baby Emma Jade Dyson would drown after she abandoned her in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal on March 14.

She pleaded not guilty to the murder of her four-month-old daughter but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was sent to detention for an indefinite period.

Charles Chruszcz QC, prosecuting, said a massive search was made of Burnley town centre after Hashim told police her daughter had been abducted from outside toilets in Burnley Market Square.

Later a pram was found on the canal bank near to Pendle Way.

The defendant was taken close to the area where she soon broke down and admitted placing Emma into the water, he said. The court heard that she told her mental health worker and later the police that she had heard voices in her head telling her to do what she had done. Hashim had a previous conviction for twice striking another two month old child in the face, the court was told.

Roger Baldwin, defending, said it was a terrible tragedy and that when she was in a clear state of mind Hashim bitterly regretted what she had done.

He said she had been an in patient at Burnley General Hospital because of her abnormal mental state and with hindsight it was easy to say she should still have been in hospital at the time this offence was committed. Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Peter Snowden told the court that Hashim required very careful clinical supervision and management as well as medication.

He said she suffered from unusual beliefs and had twice acted on those with regard to her own children. There could be no guarantee she would only act on those when she had supervision or responsibility of a child.

It was clear from interview these voices also urged her to harm staff and other patients although she had not acted on them. Judge Peter Openshaw QC said Hashim suffered from psychiatric disorder and her condition had worsened following the birth of her daughter.

He said: "It is clear you are badly in need of treatment. It was a dreadful crime but you deserve sympathy and understanding not punishment and condemnation."

He sentenced her under a hospital order under the Mental Health Act and a restriction order which means that she will be kept in a secure unit indefinitely.