Toddler at significant risk in dirty and overcrowded home to go into council care
A toddler who was sharing an overcrowded home with two dogs must go into council care, a family court judge has decided.
The house where the little boy, who is now nearly 18 months old, had lived was cluttered and dirty, social workers told Judge Dermot Main-Thompson.
Two dogs, which could pose a risk, lived in the house, the judge heard.
They were often muzzled or in cages.
Social services bosses said the boy was at risk of suffering “significant harm”.
Judge Main-Thompson ruled that the youngster must go into care.
He said the plan was for the little boy to be adopted.
The judge has outlined detail of the case in a ruling published online following a private family court hearing in Southampton.
He said the boy could not be named in media reports.
The judge said the boy’s mother was in her teens.
He said social workers had also been involved with her family.
When she was 11, social services staff had intervened after receiving an anonymous tip about children at her home being “feral” and “like wild animals”.
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