Adopted mother wants law change so
BRAVE little Tony Hudgell is the picture of happiness but his beaming smile masks the tot’s horrific start to life.
As the three-year-old poses on his loving adopted mum’s lap, few would realise the hell he has endured.
Tony was just six weeks old when his parents violently swung him around by the legs, causing eight fractures.
He was injured so badly that he had to have a double amputation.
But mum Jody Simpson and dad Tony Smith were only brought to justice because of the determination of his adoptive mum Paula Hudgell.
And Paula is fighting for justice after Simpson, 24, and Smith, 47, were convicted of child cruelty and jailed for ten years.
Paula, 50, is campaigning for tougher sentences for child neglect and abuse. And she has spoken out after Simpson made a bid to be freed early from jail.
She said: “Jody left her son close to death and now she wants sympathy. She can’t accept her guilt for what she did to her own child.
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“By appealing to have her sentence reduced shows she has no remorse.”
She added: “Both his parents deserve to rot in prison.”
Tony was just 41 days old when he was admitted to hospital with multiple organ failure, numerous fractures and sepsis.
By four months, he still weighed only 9lb 7oz but he was ready to be discharged into the arms of foster carers Paula and Mark, 53 – who have seven kids of their own.
Paula first met Tony in February 2015. She said: “Tony was on the brink of death. My heart broke.”
Tony’s body had inflated like a balloon fighting infections from thigh bone, lower leg, ankle, thumb, and toe fractures. Doctors said he may never be able to sit up or crawl and may face development delays from the amount of life-saving drugs he received.
Paula knew little about Tony’s background but alarm bells rang after meeting his birth parents, who told her the injuries had been a “terrible accident”.
Paula and asset manager Mark took Tony home in Kings Hill, Kent, to meet their children Ben, 28, Chloe, 23, Ryan, 26, Kyle, 16, Jessica, 11, Jaden, ten, and Lacey, five.
Paula, a former market researcher, said: “I didn’t think too much about his parents – we were all just getting to grips with Tony’s medical needs.
“But my stomach churned when it