The horrific abuse inflicted on a schoolboy was uncovered when police found him in a flat infested with insects, unable to open his bedroom door due to a blockade of rubbish.
Gordon Bircham and Caitlin O'Brien, who were looking after the nine-year-old boy, allowed the property to become so filthy it was infested with flies and insects.
His bedroom walls and mattress were covered in animal urine and excretement, while the wider flat was filled with so much rubbish and filth that the boy’s bedroom and the bathroom were obstructed.
Investigating officers found that rotting rubbish, stale food, dirty clothes and other waste was strewn all throughout the house.
The details emerged yesterday when Bircham, 32, and O'Brien, 28, appeared in the dock at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court for sentencing.
According to Daily Record reports, the pair had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of wilfully neglecting the child, who is now 11, at a property in the Ayrshire town in July 2020.
Speaking in court, prosecutor Angie Bennett said the child had told officers that he didn’t know if he had any clean clothes.
He had pointed out his bedroom to police, she said, though officers were unable to enter the bedroom due to the amount of household rubbish and empty food boxes on the floor.
"Other rooms in the house were in a not dissimilar condition,” she continued.
"There was a cat litter tray which was full and had spilled over and had then flooded into the bathroom.
"There was human and animal faeces on the floor of the toilet and the walls.
"It seemed to the police there was nowhere for the child to wash or brush his teeth.
"There appeared to be no clean clothes and there did not appear to be any food for him."
The court heard of how the boy was taken away "to a place of safety".
Bircham and O'Brien could not be cautioned and charged over the neglect because they were so upset.
The charge they pleaded guilty to, under Section 12(1) of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937, also stated there "was only mouldy and out of date food within the kitchen" and that they "did thus expose said child to the risk of injury, infection and illness".
Defence solicitor Gillian Swanney said Bircham had experienced "a significant deterioration in his mental health and that of his ex-partner" around March last year and "spiralled out of control".
She said he was now receiving anti-depression medication, had got himself a job and was seeking help for his alcoholism.
After hearing they were no longer a couple, Sheriff Colin Bissett spared them both jail.
He said: "Your behaviour towards this boy was disgusting and extremely regretful.
"I am prepared to deal with the matter by way of an alternative to custody.
"It's a punishment that requires you to pay back to the community for your crime."
He placed them both on a Community Payback Order which will see them supervised by social workers for 18 months.
They also have 12 months to do 80 hours of unpaid work, reduced from 120 as they admitted their guilt.
