These shocking images show the squalid conditions five children lived in before being rescued by police.
Bags of rubbish and soiled nappies were strewn around the house in the north Liverpool, while officers said there was a strong smell of urine.
Couple jailed after waiting three days to take baby with 'hanging' broken arm to hospital
Liverpool Crown Court heard the living room was almost bare of furniture and there was no food in fridge, although a chest freezer was ‘well stocked’ with food.
The parents were spared jail yesterday after a judge heard of the mum’s horrific upbringing – including being raped as a child – while the dad was heard to have become ‘overwhelmed’ with the situation.
They were arrested after the children’s school flagged up weeks of absences.
Gerald Baxter, prosecuting, described how one of the children told his new carers he ‘blamed himself’ for being separated from his siblings because he ‘should have gone to school.’
The defendants, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the children, will now ‘never care for their children again’ after admitting five counts of child neglect.
Body found so badly decomposed police can't tell if it's male or female
Mr Baxter told the court: ‘The officers found rather shocking conditions inside the house.
‘They noted in particular there were a number of bags of rubbish which were strewn around the house, while all over the floor there were soiled nappies, some of which appeared to have been trodden in.
‘There was also a strong smell of stale urine.’
Officers found some of the children, aged as young as two, in nappies while the oldest, still primary school age, was wearing just a pair of underpants.
The mum said she was suffering from depression and struggled with the housework, and claimed one child had diarrhoea which is why she kept him off school.
Bouncer filmed 'knocking out' revellers in nightclub rampage
Doctors found no signs of deliberately inflicted injuries on the children but some had ‘developmental delay’, suffered from autism and behavioural difficulties.
Julian Linskill, representing the mum, aged in her late 20s, told the court his client suffered mental health difficulties stemming from her horrific childhood.
Mr Linskill said: ‘She has, in my submission, not resolved these problems satisfactorily.’
More: UK
Two of her close relatives had also died shortly before the offences.
Ken Heckle, representing the dad, said his client had tried to get to grips with the situation and admitted he should have sought help.
Great-granddad hid £1,000,000 lottery ticket in wife's underwear drawer
Judge Robert Warnock, passing sentence, told the pair: ‘Each of you failed properly, or indeed at all, on some occasions to care for these five children.
‘The circumstances in which the police found these children were, as you have both acknowledged, disgraceful. The consequences have been dire.’
They were each sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 30 rehabilitation activity days with the Probation Service.
MORE: Bouncer filmed ‘knocking out’ revellers in nightclub rampage
MORE: PETA is asking Greggs to launch a vegan sausage roll
[contf]
[contfnew]
METRO
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
