Briton on Baby Snatch Charge Freed on Bail

A British woman accused of abducting a child from a young mother in Athens was released from custody on bail yesterday. Looking relieved as she left the courthouse, Marie Golby, 41, from Warwickshire, said she was elated that her ordeal was "nearly over".

The waitress, who was ordered to report to police once a month, was charged on Sunday with kidnapping the seven-month-old girl.

"It's been a nightmare," she told the Guardian. "I'm innocent. She [the baby's mother] changed her story ... I kept to mine." She said she had met the teenager by chance. "I never stole the baby. She just vanished. I was left with it in my arms."

But testifying before an investigating magistrate, Ms Golby admitted acting "strangely" by holding on to the girl for 48 hours before handing her to doctors on the Ionian island of Cephalonia on Friday. She had tried to pass the child off as her own to her partner, Giorgos Manentis, 24, who has since ended their relationship.

The baby's mother, Sofie Tuta Caldarar, 15, reported the incident to police. She was released unconditionally yesterday. The child has been flown to Athens, where she is being cared for in a paediatric clinic.

Michael Peristerakis, the lawyer for Ms Caldarar, whose family lives in Sibiu, Romania, said: "Her lawyers produced at least 10 pages of doctors' reports from the UK saying she suffered from depression and other psychological problems. It was their main line of defence and it worked."

The waitress admitted feeling "very down" after a recent miscarriage.

Ms Golby faces 15 years in prison if convicted of abducting the child to adopt her illegally. She is alleged to have run off with the baby during negotiations to buy her.