'You don't give a damn': Leeds parents allowed son, 5, to live among swarms of flies, rubbish and human waste

The pair, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, appeared at Leeds Crown Court charged with neglect after conditions at the inner-city house were described as “unliveable”.

Body-worn camera footage from an officer who attended the address was played in court, and showed the boy had been living on a bare mattress in the living room. It also showed piles of rubbish and clothing covering the floor in each room, no fresh food and nothing in the fridge or freezer. The bath was also filled with human waste.

The court was told that the parents, aged 28 and 30, ignored several warnings about the state of the property in Leeds.

Prosecutor Caroline Abraham said it first came to the attention of the authorities earlier this year because of the boy’s regular absences from school.

Through May, June and July the family were visited on a multiple occasions, with the parents agreeing each time to clear up. But conditions continued to deteriorate and they were eventually arrested.

They later said they had been financially struggling and drugs had been a problem for the pair. They both admitted the cruelty charge. The boy has since been removed from their care and is living with a grandparent, but the parents are permitted limited access.

Mitigating for the father, Zarreen Alam-Cheetham told the court: “It’s a very sad case indeed. He tells me he is disgusted with himself. He accepts this dreadful offending. There are very clearly behavioural issues and it’s clear he lacks maturity.”

She said he himself had been neglected as a child, had ADHD and suffered from depression. She added: “He is motivated to stop taking drugs.”

Watching the father in the dock, Judge Andrews Stubbs KC stopped the mitigation and said: “He looks like a picture of indifference. He just does not give a damn.”

For the mother, Rhianydd Clement said: “She has felt the shame that comes with a conviction of this nature. She is embarrassed and deeply remorseful. It seems she had essentially buried her head in the sand. The conditions got worse and worse and it became too much to consider tackling.”

Judge Stubbs told them: “If you do not feel ashamed, nothing I say will will make you feel ashamed. You were given lots of chances and failed to take them. If you can’t pull yourself together, you will lose him.

"I will give you six months to sort it out, I will defer sentence for six months.”

He told them them must both engage with the drug-counselling service, Forward Leeds, and pass regular drug tests.

He added: “I need you to show me that you have been taking active steps to find that help. If you blow this chance and live like you have been living, start taking cocaine again and give up, when we meet again you will make it a really easy decision for me.”

The case was deferred until June next year.