A reform of children’s services after the death of torture victim Victoria Climbié has created a recipe for confusion, a government spending watchdog will say today. Victoria died in February 2000 at the age of eight from hypothermia caused by malnourishment and damp conditions. The postmortem had found 128 injuries on her body.

The future of a Norfolk day care centre which has just celebrated its 30th anniversary hangs in the balance after it emerged there was uncertainty over funding.

At least seven morbidly obese children were taken into care last year by social services. A boy of six who was seriously overweight, a girl of seven with a Body Mass Index three times higher than normal, and an eight-year-old girl who weighed nine stone, were among those taken from their parents.

FAMILIES coping with a child with autism or Asperger syndrome can now benefit from a new service that provides autism awareness workshops at The Bonded Warehouse in Stourbridge.

COUNCIL leaders in Southampton caused an outcry last night when they unanimously voted to close down two care homes and evict 62 residents to save cash.

A Bristol couple with learning disabilities are too afraid to have a longed-for child in case the baby is taken away from them. Andrew and Michelle Bennett, who have been together for 15 years, have already had one child adopted against their wishes.