A teenager who kidnapped a two-day-old baby from a West Midlands hospital maternity ward has walked free from court.

Kelly Oldnall, 18, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to taking Elizabeth Rice, a twin, from her mother's bedside at Wordsley Hospital, Stourbridge, on 6 May.

Last month Judge Robin Onions warned Oldnall that he was considering "all options", including a prison term.

But on Tuesday, Oldnall, of Pensett, Dudley, was given a three-year rehabilitation order.

It also beggars belief that the CCTV cameras had no film to record the events

Mr and Mrs Rice

She will serve the first 12 months of the order at a bail hostel outside the West Midlands but if she responds well to a treatment programme, she could be brought to an address closer to home.

Oldnall will also have to observe a curfew and is banned from drinking alcohol.

Elizabeth's parents, Deanne and Richard Rice, welcomed the sentence but criticised Wordsley Hospital for a "fundamental breakdown" in its security arrangements.

Oldnall abducted the baby, who was born prematurely baby weighing less than 5lbs, while her mother, Deanne Rice, 32, slept.

Elizabeth was discovered hours later at Oldnall's home in Dudley after a member of her own family informed police.

'Fundamental breakdown'

A previous court hearing was told that the teenager had been receiving "treatment" following a miscarriage prior to the offence.

In a statement the Rices said: "We are disappointed that the internal inquiry carried out by the Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust did not go far enough and may not therefore prevent a similar incident happening again at Wordsley Hospital or any other maternity unit.

Kelly Oldnall arrives at court for sentencing

"There was a fundamental breakdown of the Trust's security arrangements on the day of Elizabeth's abduction.

"A member of the public was challenged by staff in the maternity unit but she was not removed, which allowed her the opportunity to abduct Elizabeth.

"It also beggars belief that the CCTV cameras had no film to record the events.

Security at the hospital was also criticised by Judge Robin Onions.

He said: "To prop open that door so the intercom is bypassed appears to serve no purpose at all.

Monitoring progress

"It seems to me that if these elementary precautions were in place, this could have been prevented.

"As a parent, I can only hazard what I would have felt if one of my children had been taken so soon after birth."

The Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust said that a "thorough review of security" was undertaken after Elizabeth's abduction.

A spokeswoman said a review team from the Birmingham and Black Country Health Authority have been monitoring progress in implementing the actions in the review.

Work on a baby tagging system was also completed on 15 May.