A woman has been charged with abandoning her young children who were found home alone in appalling conditions early this morning.

Police were called to an address in the Hamilton suburb of Dinsdale about 3.30am where they found a two-and-a-half-year-old boy crying outside the front door.

When officers entered the home they came across an 11-month-old boy crying in a portable cot, shift manager Senior Sergeant Kevin Anderson said.

``He had superficial facial injuries and in his cot were two RTD cans, some chips, a bottle of milk formula and a straw, and a sealed condom packet.''

Police searched the house looking for a parent or caregiver and at first thought they had found someone in a bed.

``On inspection, police found the bed had been padded to look like someone was there but under the quilt were blankets and pillows.''

The children were removed from the house and put in the care of Child Youth and Family.

Police said that when their 22-year-old mother returned home about 6am and found them missing she assumed they had been picked up by their grandmother.

It was not until police came to the address three hours later that she found out what had actually happened to them.

She has been charged with two counts of abandoning a child under six.