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This is the disgusting "pig sty" home where children were forced to live in scenes of stomach-churning neglect.

The youngsters were riddled with lice and developed learning difficulties as a result of their parents' lack of care.

A policeman who entered the fly-infested home said the smell was so bad it made his eyes water.

Photographs taken inside the house in Tyneside showed the state of squalor the children had been subjected to, with rubbish and clothes piled up in every room.

There was also faeces on the floor, soiled men's underwear and the hallway carpet was covered in so much dog hair that no-one could tell its original colour.

Now the mum who inflicted the neglect has failed in a bid to have her jail sentence reduced, the Newcastle Chronicle reported.

A court heard the couple who lived in the “pig sty” both had decent jobs which involved them having hygiene and health and safety certificates at work.

But when authorities turned up at their home, they found the children riddled with head lice and a police officer said the smell “made his eyes water”.

The mother, in her 30s, had the audacity to say “I did a bit of tidying up this morning,” when challenged about the state of her home while the dad, who is in his 40s, confessed they had lived like that for six months.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the youngsters have been left with long-term issues, including learning difficulties, due to the neglect they suffered.

In July the parents, who cannot be named in order to protect the identities of the children, were locked up for child neglect.

The mother has now appealed against the sentence but her bid to have it reduced has been thrown out.

Her lawyers told the Criminal Appeal Court, in London, that she had “spiralled into depression” and had been unable to cope with working as well as looking after children and a house.

But rejecting the pleas for mercy and throwing out her appeal, top judges said the house had been a “pig sty” and there had been “protracted neglect”.

During the original sentencing hearing in July, Judge Stephen Earl told the pair: “Frankly, how they managed to survive in your care is somewhat in question.

“It is appalling that you lived in this situation, never mind brought up children in it. This is protracted neglect over a lengthy period of time.”

Defence barristers told the court the parents had been struggling with their own issues at the time and their situation got out of hand and urged the judge to suspend the prison sentences.

But he refused, saying: “Such that the message is sent appropriately that children are probably one of the greatest assets that a society has.

“The way in which these children were ill-treated and neglected deserves an immediate custodial sentence.”

Judge Earl questioned how those who saw the children every day outside of their home did not raise any concerns.

He said: “Didn’t school notice that these children were in an appalling state?

“It is reported that these children had had lice, serious head lice for two years or more.”

The judge said it “beggars belief” that their plight was not brought to the attention of the authorities earlier.

He added: “I have serious concerns about how we allowed this to slip through our society’s net.”

The court heard the mother of the youngsters admitted she could not remember when the bathroom was last cleaned and accepted her kitchen facilities deserved to be “condemned”.

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The couple had both been cautioned by police over the state of their home in the past but failed to learn their lesson.

Police were called to the address after children’s services discovered the shocking conditions the children were living in.

The first officer to arrive at the scene immediately took the children into protective custody when he saw their state.

Prosecutor Daniel Penman told the court: “He described an overwhelming smell of urine and rotting food from the kitchen.

“The carpet in the hall was thick with dog hair, such that its original colour could not be determined.

“The downstairs toilet was heavily stained with faeces and there was fecal matter next to the toilet. The smell was so strong it made his eyes water. There was a lot of flies in the house.

“He also inspected the kitchen and found it to be full of rotting food. There was faeces on the floor and soiled men’s underwear.

“In the living room, again, there was rotting food and faecal matter on the floor.”

The court heard the children’s hair was crawling with lice and eggs and had been in that state for up to three years.

Both parents were jailed for two years each after admitting child neglect.