POLICE are advising parents to be on their guard after a nine-month-old baby almost drowned after being left unattended in a bath.
The girl was sitting in the bath at her east Cleveland home in a "safety" bath ring which consisted of a plastic seat with suction pads to secure it to the bath.
The safety ring is sold in shops for £6.99 and has a warning stating that children should not be left alone in the bath under any circumstances.
On this occasion, the mother, who does not want to be identified, left the bathroom for a brief time and returned to find the baby submersed, unconscious and not breathing.
The child was taken to hospital by ambulance and made a full recovery.
A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: "It would appear the suction pads lost their grip and the baby fell backwards into the water. Police are warning parents of young children that they need to be supervised at all times. This accident almost resulted in death.
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