Six children are found living in 'Victorian slum' house surrounded by dog mess, mouse droppings and used nappies as parents admit child cruelty charges
Six children were found living in a horrific 'Victorian slum' where they were surrounded by dog poo, mouse droppings and used nappies, a court has heard.
Shocking photographs show the extent of the squalid conditions the children were forced to live in, with the scenes in the house being likened to a 'Victorian slum'.
Stomach-churning pictures of the house in Wirral, Merseyside, showed mountains of rubbish piled up in the kitchen, the sink and bathtub filled with discarded cans and bottles, and clothes thrown across the floors.
The parents, who cannot be named due to reporting restrictions put in place to protect the identity of the children, both admitted children cruelty at Liverpool Crown Court and will be sentenced in November.
A judge has demanded answers on the children's welfare and what action was taken to protect them, after it emerged social services were made aware of the conditions 10 years ago.
Shocking photographs show the extent of the squalid conditions that six children in Wirral, Merseyside, were forced to live in, with the conditions being likened to a 'Victorian slum'
A statement from one of the children read in court said the house was 'an absolute dump' and 'not fit to be lived in', saying it had been like this 'for a long time' and 'no one should be living there'.
The victim said there was no running water, rubbish everywhere and 'dog poo all over the place', which was 'disgusting'.
The victim added: 'I would say both my parents are to blame for these conditions. We just need help.'
Liverpool Crown Court heard police were called to an argument between the couple and entered the property earlier this year, where they were confronted with the 'disgusting' scene.Trevor Parry-Jones, prosecuting, said: 'What they were confronted with could only be described as a scene of unutterable squalor, more reminiscent of the Victorian slum era than the 21st century.'
The children were forced to survive surrounded by dog poo, mouse droppings, a rodent infestation and used nappies, with the mother saying the bathroom hadn't been used 'in years'.
Mr Parry-Jones said rubbish was 'strewn' throughout the house, the children's bunk beds and bedrooms were 'disgusting', and 'dog faeces abounded' on both floors.
He said: 'The bathroom was unusable, the toilet filthy, not having been cleaned for some considerable time, and there was a rodent infestation.'
The parents, who cannot be named, both admitted children cruelty and will be sentenced in November. Pictured: Used cans and rubbish left in the bathroom sink
The stomach-churning pictures showed mountains of rubbish piled up in the kitchen, the sink and bathtub filled with discarded cans, and clothes (pictured) thrown across the floors
Officers called for help, evacuated the children and asked another patrol to bring food, clean clothing and new nappies. Both parents were arrested and interviewed.
The father accepted conditions in the house were 'very bad' and the children 'could have got hurt', but claimed he had cleaned up about a month previously.
The mother, who like her partner claimed she worked 'very long hours', confessed they only ate only takeaway food and said the 'vile' conditions were made worse by their large pet dog.
Photos shown in court included one of a bedroom with discarded tins, plastic trays and wrappers strewn across the floor, while a second picture showed a bottle of bleach and dog faeces on the floor.
The children's school uniforms were stored in a room with old plastic bottles, bags full of rubbish and Pot Noodle containers on the floor.
Mr Parry-Jones said police officers found 'soiled' nappies 'discarded' around the house, while the bathroom was described as 'filthy and disgusting' and had been used as a 'refuse tip'.
The court heard the entrance hallway was full of rubbish and the kitchen was 'trashed', with a washing machine door missing and the floor covered in the remains of takeaways and mouse droppings.
The living room had no carpet and the floor was covered in waste, as were the stairs, causing a trip and 'fire risk', while dangerous plug sockets had 'burned out'.
Mr Parry-Jones said the children's bedrooms were 'filthy' and a dead rodent was found in one drawer.
He said neither of the parents, who both had previous convictions, had sought assistance, despite knowing the house was 'dangerous', 'insanitary' and 'a real health risk'.
A judge has demanded answers on the children's welfare after it emerged social services were first made aware of the conditions 10 years ago. Pictured: Toilet in the house
The children were forced to survive surrounded by mouse droppings, and a rodent infestation (pictured in bathtub), with the mother saying the bathroom hadn't been used 'in years'
He said the children were taken into 'interim care', but said the authorities had already been involved and there were concerns raised 'for many years'.
The court heard checks were first made in 2010 about the state of the house, and when police attended in 2013, they described it as 'unhygienic and dirty', which was 'conveyed to the authorities'.
The charity Catch 22 described the house as 'very poor' in 2015 and when police visited the house in 2017, as some of the children were not attending school, they said it was 'not dirty but poor'.
Two visits in 2018 saw police express 'concern to social services about the living conditions', with officers describing the house as 'in poor condition, there was a layer of dirt, no washing facilities, rubbish and mouse droppings and the bath is full of used sanitary products'.
Mr Parry-Jones said: 'As a result of the police passing that information on, a child social care worker attended and didn't assess the conditions as bad.'
But the disturbance this year brought officers back to the house, with Mr Parry-Jones saying: 'The people who have caused this are not those in authority - the cause of this is by the direct inaction or passive actions of both defendants.
'There is effectively no escape from that.'
Judge Andrew Menary, QC, said he hadn't been provided with any evidence about the impact on the children and needed information about the condition of each child when they were taken into care.
Mr Parry-Jones said: 'The inference is the children have been brought up in absolutely appalling conditions and it must have had an impact upon them.'
He said it wasn't clear 'how they do schoolwork, how they do anything, how they survive'.
Police were called to an argument between the couple and entered the home earlier this year, where they were confronted with the 'disgusting' scene. Pictured: Rodent found in a drawer
Jude Menary demanded answers as to why nothing was done sooner and ordered welfare reports on all six of the children, including information about whether they had suffered physical or psychological harm.
He said: 'It might be surprising social services hadn't taken action. It might be a symptom of the phenomena where social services place the bar too low in their expectation of parenting skills. I just don't know what the position is.'
Christopher McMaster, defending the mother, said at one stage social services working with Catch 22 had offered them support.
He said: 'I'm told by my lay client that assisted a lot, but the funding was cut and the support was taken away.'
Frank Dillon, defending the father, accepted the way the conditions in the house had been described.
However, he said: 'The other side of that coin is how can statutory systems, which are supposed to intervene in these circumstances, so fail these children?'
He said the defence required 'chapter and verse' about the involvement of the authorities because while his client accepted his responsibility, 'chances were missed'.
Judge Menary said: 'It's surprising if social services paid a visit to this house for a fleeting moment, they wouldn't have concluded something was seriously wrong.'
The parents, who, both admitted children cruelty at Liverpool Crown Court, will be sentenced in November.
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