A family support worker sold an adopted child’s address to her mother to pay for a holiday to the Dominican Republic.

Androulla Farr, aged 50, was working for North Somerset Council when she offered the girls’s birth mother the address in exchange for cash to pay for a holiday.

She pleaded guilty to corruptly receiving money in exchange for revealing the location of an adopted child to someone who was not allowed to know.

The child had been living with her adopted parents for four years, and there were fears the girl could be abducted by her birth mother if she knew girl’s address.

The disclosure later resulted in the adoptive family giving up their job and home over concerns for their daughter’s safety.

The child was born in 2000, but was adopted in 2002 as her birth mother was not able to look after her.

When the mum had a second child, Farr, of Brompton Road in West Wick, continued to work as a family support worker to her.

North Somerset Courthouse heard how Farr, aged 50, visited the mother in February 2006.

Prosecutor Kevin Blackmore said: “A conversation was struck by the defendant, who offered to tell her where her child was for £2,000.

“The defendant needed funds for her holiday to the Dominican Republic and the mum was desperate for this information.”

The pair met in a café in BHS, where the mum handed Farr £1,800 which she had borrowed from family and friends.

Farr then passed over a piece of paper with the girl’s address on. The meeting was recorded on the mother’s dictaphone.

The mum, who was in permitted contact with her daughter through letters delivered by the council, then indicated she would be visiting the area of London where the girl lived. Mr Blackmore said: “This worried the adoptive family and resulted in them giving up their lives in London. They gave up their good jobs and sold their home and moved to start new lives only owing to the letter and concerns for their daughter’s safety.”

A council spokesman confirmed Farr left the council in 2006, and it had been helping police with their enquiries.

Defending, Sue Cameron, said Farr had found herself in debt without her husband’s knowledge.

She said: “Other than this, she is a lady of good character, and she is absolutely terrified of the outcome.”

Farr is expected to face a jail term when she is sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on June 6.

Anyone with information on the investigation can contact Detective Constable Darren Lipscomb on 101.