Mother left neglected children among broken beds, drugs, filth and squalor, Leeds Crown Court told

Health workers flagged up the filthy conditions at the home in the Wakefield area and gave the woman and her partner a deadline to clear up, which they failed to do, Leeds Crown Court heard.

The 35-year-old woman and 37-year-old partner, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the children, admitted four counts of neglect dating between 2019 and 2020.

Prosecutor Jessica Strange said social workers visited the home when a fifth baby was born and became alarmed by the living conditions.

They reported that the floors were sticky or dirty and there was a huge amount of “clutter”.

They found dirty clothes and nappies strewn around, broken toys, rotting food on the worktops, mould in the fridge and a lack of food.

They reported the beds were damaged or unusable and the children, aged between one and 10 at the time, were either sleeping on the floor or the sofa.

They also found the new baby’s development had been hindered by the amount of rubbish on the floor, that the tot was unable to crawl, roll over or pull itself up, and said they had spent too much time in a bouncer chair leaving them shaped “like a kidney bean”.

Worryingly, it was reported that two of the children had squints and needed glasses, and one needed surgery to remove an embedded earring.

A bag of white powder was found during one visit, cannabis in a tin, and bag of heroin paraphernalia in the microwave, including used needles and spoons.

The couple were given a deadline of two weeks to clear up the home, which appeared to temporarily improve, but then became dirty again.

During their interviews with police, both the man and woman denied neglect and said the children were never in any danger and the home posed no risk to their health.

Mitigating for the female, who has no previous convictions, Andrea Parnham said the woman had stopped taking amphetamines, and two of the youngest children had since been adopted, which she said was “worse than any punishment the court could give her”.

The remaining three children have since gone to live with a grandparent.

Judge Neil Clark told the woman: “You may have a hoarding disorder which may explain part of what went on, but it’s not clear if you fully appreciate the effect it will have on your children.

"But you do recognise that the your failure to look after them is an offence.”

He handed her a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, and told her to complete 25 rehabilitation requirement activity days.

The male, who was due to be sentenced at the same time, became verbal during the proceedings by disputing the case that the Crown was putting forward.

By order of the judge, he was led away to the cells and could be heard swearing.

He will be sentenced later today, Tuesday, September 27.