Nurse cleared of baby kidnap plot says life ruined

A pupil caregiver cleared of plotting to kidnap a babe from a neonatal ward said her acquisition of the justness strategy had near her "smashed".

Safia Ahmadei was accused of "scouting" New Cross Hospital successful Wolverhampton for a babe she could walk disconnected arsenic her own.

But pursuing an 11-day proceedings a assemblage recovered her not blameworthy of attempted kidnap successful conscionable 48 minutes.

Ms Ahmadei, who has maintained her innocence since her apprehension successful February, told the BBC: "My reputation, my dignity, my vocation is gone, each due to the fact that of a incorrect allegation."

The parent of 2 was connected remand successful situation for six months awaiting proceedings wherever she said she was attacked 3 times by different inmates.

Ms Ahmadei was incapable to talk to household members portion down bars due to the fact that it took 4 months to get telephone calls approved.

"Prison made maine breached - down the door, successful the dark, reasoning astir my 2 flowers... my children," she said.

Ms Ahmadei, who came to England from Afghanistan successful 2011, enrolled connected a nursing people astatine the University of Wolverhampton successful 2022.

She was successful her 2nd twelvemonth and grooming astatine the city's infirmary erstwhile she said her beingness was turned upside down.

Ms Ahmadei maintains an guiltless brushwood with a distressed caller mum connected the neonatal ward led to her being arrested, charged and facing proceedings accused of trying to bargain her baby.

She said she approached the woman, who was acrophobic her babe had been placed by an aerial conditioning unit.

Able to pass successful Urdu, Ms Ahmadei said she comforted her and sympathised with her raising a household without pistillate relatives successful the country.

She besides maintains the women realised they had communal acquaintances and that aboriginal that time she returned to the ward to springiness the babe a blanket.

Dressed successful her nurse's azygous but not connected duty, she was informed by a subordinate of unit she should not beryllium wearing it if not working.

Ms Ahmadei said she returned to her car, enactment connected an wide to screen herself and took the broad to the ward.

The pursuing day, she received a telephone from the assemblage to accidental she had been suspended from her course.

"I was truly shocked. I couldn't instrumentality it in" she said.

"It was my imagination to enactment connected that uniform. I was wondering what I had done wrong... I knew successful my bosom I was doing my champion astatine the hospital."

Despite being told to enactment away, the caregiver said she returned to the infirmary the adjacent time due to the fact that she feared she had unintentionally offended the woman.

She besides took babe clothes, which she said were an apology gift.

When she arrived, she was surrounded by infirmary unit and constabulary were called.

"They weren't letting maine speak. I didn't cognize what had gone connected oregon what I'd done wrong," she said.

"My apprehension was the achromatic time successful my life. I felt wholly smashed," she said.

During her proceedings astatine Wolverhampton Crown Court, the prosecution argued she was readying to kidnap a babe to walk disconnected arsenic her ain aft lying to her 2nd hubby astir being large with duplicate boys.

She admitted being untruthful but said she had recovered herself successful an intolerable situation.

"I was frightened if I told him that possibly helium would beryllium aggravated and permission me," she said.

Her repeated appearances successful the neonatal ward, changing of apparel and purchasing of babe outfits were portion of the the prosecution's lawsuit against her.

But she repeatedly insisted she had nary volition of taking a kid to unreal it was her own.

"I'm a mother. How could I wounded different mother?" she said.

On 16 August, the assemblage delivered its not blameworthy verdict successful little than an hour.

Ms Ahmadei said she wept with joyousness but that her ordeal was acold from over.

"I adjacent my eyes and I inactive perceive the sound of the keys, the chain," she said.

Rumours and misinformation astir her online had been devastating, she said.

"My household are not letting maine spot societal media, oregon the quality reports, due to the fact that they cognize if I spot thing it volition marque maine much upset."

She said she believed she faced prejudice wrong the Afghan assemblage aft separating from her archetypal hubby and pursuing an acquisition and career.

"In my mind, it was a program to enactment maine successful trouble," she told the BBC.

Despite her experience, Ms Ahmadei is inactive pursuing a vocation successful nursing and hopes to beryllium re-enrolled connected a course.

"I'm a beardown mother. I volition get my grade but I interest that determination could beryllium different Safia successful the future," she said.

West Midlands Police said it accepted the court's determination and that "our thoughts stay firmly with everyone that has been progressive successful this case".

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said it reviewed the grounds successful the lawsuit "carefully earlier making a charging decision".

They added: "The CPS doesn’t determine whether oregon not a idiosyncratic is blameworthy – we marque autarkic decisions astir erstwhile it’s due to bring a lawsuit to court.

"The suspect has been acquitted and we respect the jury’s decision.”

The University of Wolverhampton said an interior probe was ongoing and that Ms Ahmadei would stay suspended until its conclusion.

New Cross Hospital did not privation to comment.