A WOMAN has pleaded guilty to two charges of cruelty against her daughter.

The 39-year-old, from Darlington, was said to have struck the girl with a brush and, in a separate incident, grabbed her face and pushed her off a chair.

Appearing at Teesside Crown Court, she admitted cruelty to a person under 16.

The court was told the charges related to a period between January 1998 and December 1999, and January 2000 and December 2002.

The woman's 43-year-old husband also faced three charges of cruelty, but these charges were to be allowed to lay on file and no evidence was offered in respect of them.

Dan Cordey, for the woman, who was granted bail, requested reports prior to sentencing.

Recorder Malcolm Swift said not guilty verdicts would be returned against her husband once her case was disposed of. Sentencing was likely to take place in three or four weeks' time, he said.

* The Northern Echo has removed all names in order to protect the child's identity.