A mum who bit her 13-year-old daughter after an argument has been told she could face jail.

The 42-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to assault but was warned the offence was so serious she could be jailed.

The incident took place on April 28 when the mum reproached her daughter for being untidy and not helping around the house.

The girl reacted angrily saying she hated her mother and would rather live with her father, who lived in South Africa having left when she was six.

The mum, who admitted an alcohol problem and was drunk at the time, chased the girl into a bedroom in their Croydon home before attacking the girl and biting her on the shoulder.

The next day another row erupted as the 13-year-old was on her way to school. She took refuge in her mum’s partner’s car before ringing the police.

When they arrived the daughter declined to give a statement but based on evidence from the partner the Crown Prosecution Service decided to press charges.

At Croydon Magistrates’ Court yesterday, the 42-year-old was told she would have to wait until September 4, while probation prepared reports, to find out her fate.