A MUM has praised social services for stepping in to look after her children while she fought drug and alcohol addictions.

After the Baby P scandal mother-of-five Amanda Carson, 30, wanted to speak out in support.

Ms Carson said without social workers’ help she would still be battling alcoholism and an addiction to prescription drugs.

But last month Ms Carson, mum to Jamie, 11, Katie, eight, twins Jack and Maddison, four, and Ellie Donnelly, three, celebrated a year of being sober.

The catalyst to her recovery came after a horrendous year where life began to spiral out of control.

Early in 2007 she made a second attempt to take her life, and later that year suffered a miscarriage when she was five months pregnant.

After that Ms Carson, of Leach Road, Bicester, went to her doctor for help – knowing social services were likely to step in and remove her children.

She started a home detox and her children went to live with relatives in the town, but eventually four were placed with foster families.

Last year, Ms Carson went into residential detox twice, and returned home on New Year’s Eve with a clean slate. She believes her alcohol problems started when she was a teenager in Glasgow and she started to drink to block out feelings and emotions.

After moving to Bicester she met Mark Donnelly and they started a family. But the demon drink was never far away. She drank through her pregnancies and later, after the children had gone to bed, to help her relax.

Over the years she was able to stop drinking for a short period, but always returned to the bottle.

She said: “At one point I was a functioning alcoholic. I would get the kids to school but had to have a drink to get through the day.

“It was like the pit of despair. I was crying out for help. I could hear me but no-one else could hear me.

“It was like a slow evil killer squeezing the life out of me.”

But now life is looking up. Jamie and Katie are home and the others will follow shortly.

Ms Carson said: “Social services did my job for me – they put a safety net around my children. If not for them I would not be here, being a clean and sober mum living a life. The only addiction I’ve got now is to God, to my children and I’m high on life. I’m happy and content.”

Ms Carson has returned to learning and plans to train as a specialist drugs and alcohol midwife.