Jobless mother of four screamed racist abuse at her OWN children so loudly that she made her neighbours' lives a 'living hell'

Mother-of-four Lauren Beckham, 31, verbally abused her four children

Neighbours in West Yorkshire had to sleep in cellars to block out noise

Beckham was there for eight months and got a three-year Asbo yesterday



A foul-mouthed mother of four who inflicted ‘a vile onslaught of racial and homophobic abuse’ on her own children that forced neighbours to sleep in their cellars has been slapped with an Asbo.

Jobless and single Lauren Beckham, 31, verbally abused her four mixed-race children - aged from one to 12 - ‘day in and day out’ since she moved into a house in Shipley, West Yorkshire, last July.

Beckham - who made her neighbours’ lives ‘a living hell’ by shouting and swearing - was given a three-year anti-social behaviour order yesterday at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court.

Family: Jobless and single Lauren Beckham (pictured with an unidentified man), 31, verbally abused her four mixed-race children - aged from one to 12 - 'day in and day out' since she moved into a house last July

Maxine Hoey, 42, who lived next door to Beckham until she moved out in March, said: ‘I can't even begin to describe what my family have been through since Lauren moved in.

‘Her foul language and abuse towards her children has been like poison seeping through our walls. Every day, all day, for almost eight months, those poor kids would be screamed at.

‘The things she would say are just vile. She'd call them black b****** and p****. She'd call her son a f***** and tell her daughters they were s****. On top of that there was constant swearing, shouting and banging.

‘I heard her several times scream at her daughter and threaten to break her legs. She was always so aggressive. It was awful for us neighbours but those kids are the real victims.

‘I used to phone social services on a weekly basis and ring the police around three times a week trying to stop the abuse but nothing was ever done. It might not be physical abuse but it's still abuse and it was constant - even going on right through the night.’

A thick schedule of complaints compiled by Bradford Council's Asbo officer John Crossland included reports from neighbours shocked by Beckham's high volume of verbal abuse of her children.

'The things she would say are just vile. She'd call them black b****** and p****. She'd call her son a f***** and tell her daughters they were s****' Maxine Hoey, former neighbour

Beckham, who lives on income support and child benefits, moved out of the privately-rented house in March and now lives in Bradford, where there have already been similar complaints, the court heard.

Neighbour Carol Gatenby, 52, was driven to complain about Beckham's tirades. She said: ‘It was just sheer hell - absolutely horrendous living next door to them. And since she left, it's heaven.’

She added: ‘Me and my husband were always arguing because we were so stressed and my grandchildren couldn't come round and visit because they would have to listen to the vile language she used.

'Sheer hell': Neighbour Carol Gatenby, 52, was one of those driven to complain by Beckham's tirades

‘We couldn't sit in our living room for almost eight months because of the noise and so I felt like the heart had been ripped out of the home. She had absolutely no respect for herself, her kids, her home or her neighbours.’



Mrs Hoey, who has three daughters, said her family were forced to use the cellar as a living room because of the noise - and on some nights would even be forced to sleep there.

She said: ‘She has robbed us of our family life. Since the day she moved in the noise started and it never seemed to stop. We'd get half an hour of peace if we were lucky and then it would start again.

‘She was even verbally abusive to me and if I was in the front garden or street she'd shout and say she was going to kill me and she'd bang on the walls with a hammer. I never spoke to her so it was completely unprovoked.

‘We couldn't use our living room when she lived there because we could hear all her vile language and insults to her kids so we'd use our cellar as a living room.

House: This is the former home of Beckham in Shipley, West Yorkshire, where she brought misery to her neighbours

‘We'd sleep in our bedrooms but on some occasions because we'd get woken up in the early hours of the morning and wouldn't be able to get back to sleep for the noise so we'd sleep in the cellar.

‘When her baby would cry she'd just scream, shout and swear at it to be quiet. It was just a vile onslaught of racial and homophobic abuse against her children. I can't even begin to imagine what they were going through.’

Mrs Hoey said her 11-year-old daughter, who has learning difficulties, would get distressed by the abuse and her husband was struggling to work.

‘Two of my daughters, who are aged just 11 and 15, would have to listen to the filth being spouted. It was bad enough for me to listen to it but children shouldn't have to listen to that.

‘My youngest daughter has learning difficulties and so it was even harder for her to understand what was going on. She'd get really distressed by all the shouting and would often get upset about it.

‘My other daughter would spend most of the time out of the house to try and escape it. My husband works at a bank and he has a long drive to get to work each morning.

‘He was severely sleep-deprived for months and was struggling to do his job. It was also incredibly dangerous for him to be driving long distances without enough sleep. I'd worry about him constantly.

‘It has just been absolute hell for all of us. We'd have to listen to those poor children being screamed at and yet there was nothing we could do to stop it.’

Mrs Hoey said that since Beckham has moved out, it's been ‘heaven on Earth’ in the street.

‘As soon as she left there was peace and quiet,’ she added. ‘We have our home and family life back again and I'm absolutely delighted.

‘To be able to use the living room again and get a full night’s sleep is just fantastic. But I still worry about those kids. Unless they're taken away from her they'll continue to be verbally abused.’

'As soon as she left there was peace and quiet. We have our home and family life back again and I'm absolutely delighted' Maxine Hoey



Appearing at court, Beckham accepted the order banning her from shouting, swearing, banging and upsetting neighbours.

Clare Larton, prosecuting, told the bench that agreement had been reached and that Beckham was prepared to accept an order, which she had contested until that moment.

Referring to the three-year ASBO and an application for costs of £300, Mrs Larton asked magistrates: ‘We simply ask you to endorse the order as sought.’

Bill Rawstron, for Beckham, said while not conceding lightly, she agreed it was an appropriate order.

Beckham was told she was now prohibited from acting in any anti-social manner within the Bradford district - and specifically shouting, screaming, and banging in a place of residence.