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A mum and dad have been told that they may never see their four children again because they have let them get too fat.

Social workers say the kids could be fostered without contact or adopted.

It follows repeated warnings about the children's weight and two years of close monotoring of the family's eating habits.

Yesterday, the 42-year-old mum said: "We might not be the perfect parents but we love our children with all our hearts.

"To face a future where we will never see them again is unbearable.

"They picked on us because of our size and they just haven't let go, despite the fact we've done everything to lose weight and meet their demands."

If their three daughters, aged 11, seven and one, and their five-year-old son are fostered or adopted, the Dundee couple may be banned from seeing them.

The father, 56, said: "We have tried very hard to do everything that was asked of us. My wife has cooked healthy foods like home-made spaghetti bolognese and mince and potatoes.

Sweets We've cut out snacks and only ever allowed the kids sweets on a Saturday. But nothing has ever been enough.

"We will fight them to the end to get our beloved children back."

The couple have three older children who are also overweight.

Their 15-year-old daughter said: "My parents are good people and they love us. The four little ones don't know what is about to happen to them."

Social workers got involved with the family - who cannot be named for legal reasons - when one of the boys claimed his dad had hit him on the head.

Concerns were raised about the weight of the kids and the parents, who are also overweight, were told to get it under control.

At the time, their 12-year-old son weighed 16st, his 11-year-old sister weighed 12st and his three-year-old sister was 4st.

For two years, the family lived in a council-funded house where they were closely monitored by social workers.

But the kids' weight problems remained unsolved and last week social workers told the family the youngsters faced being removed.

A spokesman for Dundee City Council said: "The council always acts in the best interests of children.

"We have always made it clear that children would not be removed from a family environment just because of a weight issue."