Used nappies and faeces on the walls where the four children were living (Picture: SWNS)

Parents have been sentenced for child neglect after they left their four kids in conditions so bad they were described as ‘zombies’.

The four children, all under five, were rescued by chance after police saw the walls covered in excrement and used nappies strewn across bare floors.

They lived in ‘feral and dangerous’ conditions in the property in Leyland, Lancashire, a court heard.

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Police visited the house for an unrelated reason and were left retching by an overpowering stench, with one of them throwing up in his mouth.


They found the children, dirty, disheveled and wearing only nappies or T-shirts, living in the disgusting conditions.



The court heard the youngsters did not show emotion and were ‘for all intents and purposes dumb – described as like zombies.’

They were so thirsty and hungry that officers went to buy them food because there was nothing in the kitchen except cannabis in a slow cooker.

Used nappies on the floor and faeces on the walls (Picture: SWNS)

A screaming girl was trapped under a bed frame in a room full of faeces and flies, police said.

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Two toddlers were in a bedroom with excrement smeared on walls, soiled bedding and exposed carpet rods.

Officers found a baby was in a bouncer two feet away from a halogen heater, naked except for a nappy.

After police raised concerns, the children were taken into care.

However, they were allowed back to live with their birth parents after a Family Court decided it was in their best interests.

The parents admitted neglect (Picture: SWNS)

Their parents, who cannot be named to protect the children’s identities, each admitted four counts of child neglect when they appeared at Preston Crown Court yesterday.

The father, aged 23, was jailed for 14 months, while the mother, 29, also received a 14-month jail sentence but this was suspended for two years, with a rehabilitation requirement to deal with her mental health conditions.

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Detective Constable Lee Bradshaw-Wood, of Lancashire Police, said: ‘These people displayed an abject failure to provide basic care for such young, vulnerable children.

‘The investigation established the feral and dangerous conditions that these poor children were living in.

Judge Mark Brown, criticised the council’s approach to the case, asking why the parents had been given ‘chance upon chance upon chance’ after learning their access to the children had continued.

Amanda Hatton, director of children’s services, Lancashire County Council, said: ‘We put this matter before a Family Court and recommended that the children be looked after away from the family home with extended family as their permanent placement.

‘However, the Family Court did not agree with this position and the children were placed back in the care of their parents with the local authority undertaking close monitoring of the case.

‘We are now working with extended family members to ensure the ongoing safety and wellbeing of the children.’