A pregnant mother convicted of causing the death of her baby girl in a car accident has pleaded with other mothers not to make the same mistake over the fitting of child seats.

Six-month-old Elisha was killed instantly when Corinne Burgwin, who had no driving licence or insurance, ploughed head-on into another vehicle on a country road.

Because the little girl was incorrectly facing the front and her harness had been loosened, she was catapulted forward by the force of the collision.

Her body was hurled against the adult belt used to anchor the child seat in place, causing severe chest injuries, Kingston Crown Court was told.

Burgwin, 25, of Orchard Way, East Grinstead, who is expecting another child in a few weeks, was convicted last month of causing death by dangerous driving on January 23, 2004.

But she was spared jail by the same court yesterday and instead given an 18-month suspended sentence.

She told the court: "I loved my baby and I will have to live with this for the rest of my life." Outside court, Burgwin's solicitor, Paul Feast, read a statement on behalf of his client, who was still too distressed to talk.

He said: "She wishes to express her sorrow for what happened, which resulted in the tragic loss of Elisha, her beautiful and cherished baby daughter."

He went on: "Miss Burgwin accepts she was responsible for what happened and wishes to say that she is very sorry for the trauma she has caused to others in this case.

"However, she also hopes that some good will come from this case.

"During the trial and from communications she has had since from others, it is clear that a great many other people do not fit child seats in the correct manner and Miss Burgwin hopes that due to the publicity and the consequences she has suffered, others will now ensure they do fully understand how to fit child seats correctly and ensure another family does not suffer similar tragic consequences."

Earlier, Judge Martin Binning told the weeping mother she had only herself to blame for the death of her child.

He said: "You knew you should not have been driving. You had no appropriate licence and you were uninsured."

Bearing in mind her previous convictions for theft to fund a drug habit, this was yet another, albeit more tragic, example of her continued irresponsibility, the judge said.

The judge told Burgwin her behaviour since the accident - with further offences of dishonesty and two incidents of driving while disqualified - had not been impressive.

He said: "I am satisfied your remorse is deep and genuine and, in addition, it seems at last you are making some progress in bringing under control and reducing, if not eliminating, your drug habit.

"It is still with some hesitation that I'm going to suspend the 18-month sentence I am imposing for two years."

She would also be disqualified from driving for four years.

The court heard Burgwin had been driving her VW Golf towards Crawley, where she planned to scrap the car.

Her husband Said was in the passenger seat.

In Dormansland, Surrey, as she approached a bend, she was distracted by her daughter crying. She glanced in her rear mirror and a split second later found herself heading for a telegraph pole.

She swerved to the other side of the road, smashing into a Renault Laguna.

The court heard the Autobaby seat she had bought second-hand and without instructions a couple of months earlier was designed to face the back windscreen so any collision impact would be spread.

Burgwin denied putting the seat the wrong way round to tend the child more easily.

She said: "It is the way I have always put her in since I bought it. I wouldn't have done it on purpose. It wasn't for convenience."