A woman threw her baby from a window to her death in a fit of jealousy when her lover said he was leaving, a court heard yesterday.

Helen Patterson, 21, from Newcastle, was consumed by envy because she thought Oswraine Bramble was seeing other women.

She went to a second floor window and threw ten-month-old Shedrina into an area full of rubbish bins below.

Patterson, of Rosewood Terrace, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

The Old Bailey in London was told Patterson, who has a low IQ, was suffering from depression and a paranoid disorder.

Sir John Nutting QC, prosecuting, said she failed to believe Mr Bramble's assurances that he loved her.

In August last year, Mr Bramble told Patterson the relationship was over because of her obsessive jealousy.

He went to visit his daughter at the home they had been sharing in Tottenham, north London, and was about to leave when Patterson walked to the window with her.

Sir John said: ''The defendant was obsessed with Mr Bramble. She was insecure and incapable of controlling her jealousy. In truth, her jealousy knew no bounds.''

Linda Strudwick, defending, said: ''What began as normal jealousy became morbid. She killed her baby in a moment of madness.

''She was a devoted and loving mother. She is now utterly distraught and has no interest in life except her dead baby.''

Judge Gerald Gordon adjourned the case to January 4 for an assessment for a possible community rehabilitation order