Neglectful mother’s two-year jail sentence suspended by judges

A MUM who kept her children living in a “flea-ridden hovel” full of rubbish has been set free by top judges.

The woman, who lives in south Wales and cannot be identified for legal reasons, was locked up for two years at Cardiff Crown Court in March.

She admitted two counts of cruelty to a person under 16, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker told London’s Appeal Court yesterday.

She “wilfully neglected” two young children “in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to their health”. A relative had noticed they were “unkempt”, “smelly” and wearing dirty clothes.

Matters came to a head when the RSPCA investigated reports of the way cats were being looked after at the woman’s house. RSPCA officers noticed knee-high rubbish in all of the rooms and alerted the NSPCC.

When a social worker visited the house, she described the smell inside as “choking”. There were rodent droppings, cat mess and broken toys everywhere and no hot water or heating.

The children were wearing dirty clothes and both had headlice. Their mum said she fed them noodles.

A total of 165 bags of rubbish were removed from the house.

The judge who jailed her said the children “must have been cold” and “on occasion hungry” and “lived in a flea-ridden hovel”.

Her lawyers argued that her jail term should have been suspended due to her personal mitigation.

Mr Justice Baker said the “period of neglect in this case was substantial” but noted she had been “effectively abandoned” by the father of the children and was “isolated” from any support network.

Sitting with two other judges, Mr Justice Baker stated that “the unusual background to this offending does provide strong personal mitigation” and that “there is evidence of a realistic prospect of rehabilitation”.

He said: “We are just persuaded that it is possible to suspend the sentence in this case.”

The two-year suspended jail term will include an 11-day rehabilitation activity requirement.