Child found covered in faeces at home after mother went to work as cleaner

A mother abandoned her five children in a messy flat while she went to work as a cleaner. The youngest child, just two years old, was discovered wearing a dirty nappy with faeces smeared on their legs and hair.

Cardiff Crown Court heard during a sentencing hearing on Tuesday that social services had requested police to perform a welfare check at the mother's Cardiff flat earlier this year. Upon arrival, officers found the front door unlocked and wide open.

Inside the home, they discovered five children, ranging in age from 15 to two years old, sleeping on bare mattresses without any bedding or duvets. To stay updated with the latest court news, subscribe to our crime newsletter.

There were no adults present in the flat, and the youngest child was found in a soiled nappy, with faeces on their legs and in their hair.

The flat was in a state of disarray, with items scattered all over and parts of the property in dire need of repair, reports Wales Online.

Prosecutor Sol Hartley presented CCTV footage to the court, revealing the condition in which the children and the flat had been left.

The defendant returned home at 9.44am, having left for her cleaning job at 6am that morning.

The children were subsequently taken into the care of social services and removed from their mother, who was then taken into police custody for questioning.

The woman admitted to the police that she was grappling with her life and acknowledged her negligence in leaving her 15 year old child to look after four younger siblings, as well as leaving the front door ajar. She insisted, however, that she had to go to work or risk losing her job.

She subsequently entered a guilty plea to five counts of assaulting/ill treating/neglecting a child.

The court was informed of prior social services engagement with the defendant, prompted by worries over her children's nutrition, their unkempt state, missed medical appointments, and her drinking habits.

Defence lawyers contended that their client had "struggled to come to terms" with her situation and highlighted her "fragile" mental health.

It emerged that the defendant had been exposed to domestic violence during her childhood, endured emotional and physical abuse from her parents, and suffered domestic violence from two former partners.

Judge Paul Hobson, during sentencing, remarked that watching the video evidence in court was "upsetting" and the danger to the children's welfare was evident.

The woman received an 18-month community order, which includes a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a 12-month alcohol monitoring requirement.