Britain's 'forgotten children who were left to die' as heartbreaking failures to save them exposed

There have been several missed opportunities to intervene and protect youngsters in Britain.

Over the last few years, the heartbreaking stories of children whose deaths could have been prevented have dominated the news.

There have been several missed opportunities to intervene and protect youngsters, including two-year-old Bronson Battersby, who died at his father's feet, and 10-month-old Finley Boden, who was allowed back into his killer parents' hands.

Change is desperately needed to save more innocent infants from slipping through the cracks and now experts are raising the alarm.

In December 2021, Deveca Rose left her four sons to fend for themselves while she shopped at Sainsbury's. They tragically died in a house fire. A blaze broke out at the family home, caused by a discarded cigarette or upturned tea light, a court heard. Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC said the youngster died surrounded by rubbish and human excrement, and that they had been known to social services. However, just three months before the tragedy, their case was closed, reports the Mirror.

According to a report from the Institute of Government last year, local authorities are experiencing severe workforce shortages, as well as the first decline in the number of children's social workers in a decade. Safeguarding Association CEO Kate Flounders, who has worked in the sector for nearly 20 years, says the system is "really struggling to meet the needs of children".

She told the Mirror: "There are so many children in need of significant support. I have never known so many cases with such complexity; conditions in homes are so bad; everything is multilayered. When I first started, you might have had a single issue case - they just don't exist anymore. It's an incredibly challenging situation out there."

Kate continued: "We have done such a good job over the last 20 years of training professionals how to get support and where to pass referrals through - but there are so many coming in now that we simply don't have the resources to deal with the number of cases and children who need intense support."

Explaining how children are sadly forgotten about, Kate said: "One issue we've had, way back since Victoria Climbié tragically died in 2000, is a consistent lack of sharing information. Lots of people may be worried, but if they aren't telling others, it can make it difficult for the local authority to see the bigger picture of what is going on in a child's life. Sometimes, information isn't shared in a timely manner, or there isn't enough information given. That's how children can fall through the cracks."

Kate continued: "Social workers don't have the ability to go into people's properties, have a look around and just walk out with children. There are specific processes, permissions and orders that have to be in place to allow a local authority to do that."

Moving forward, Kate said there needs to be a better set-up to share information between social care agencies. "There also needs to be a removal of fear. Lots of individuals are worried about the implications if they share pieces of information. We need better support and protection for professionals who do," she said.

"I'd also like to see a national database. It would help to locate children whose families move around or evade care and allow authorities to make sure support goes in as timely a manner as possible."

"Social care is there to protect children or to advise and assist the families, but the first responsibility for children falls to their parents and wider family. We've seen in an umber of incredibly tragic cases, after the deaths, cry out and say 'Why didn't social care do enough?' but 'Why didn't you go in and take those children from a situation you felt was dangerous? Why did you defer to the state to intervene if you were so concerned?'

"If you are worried and they are your family members, do what you can to intervene in a safe way. If that doesn't work, you can ring 999. The police have the power to remove children from unsafe situations. Local authorities can't always escalate the situation if they haven't got the evidence they need. Local authorities have to work on a consent basis.

Amid a backdrop of strained resources, we take a look at some of the devastating cases of vulnerable children lost and the missed chances to save them.

Leyton, Logan, Kyson and Bryson Hoath

Twins Kyson and Bryson, four, and twins Leyton and Logan, three, died in a house fire in Wallington, south London, on December 16, 2021, while their mum Deveca Rose was at Sainsbury's. A jury this week found Rose guilty of the manslaughter of her four sons after reaching a majority of 11 to one. She was found not guilty of child cruelty and has been granted continued bail. Judge Mark Lucraft KC deemed it a 'tragic case'.

The court was told the boys died surrounded by human excrement after their mother left them home alone. There were numerous cigarette ends, lighters, tea lights and incense sticks on the floor and the property was 20cm deep in rubbish. Living in squalor, the tots were forced to use a bucket as a toilet and Rose filled her bath with rubbish. The children did not attend school for three weeks before the fire struck.

Rose and the children were known to social services after inappropriate behaviour was raised at their school, but the case was closed three months before their deaths. A health visitor for Sutton Council - Susan Hamilton - was assigned to the family between November 2018 until January 2020.

Social services intervened between July and September 2021, jurors heard. On a visit in July 2021, a social worker found rubbish at the house and 'very strong unpleasant smell'. The professional was also worried that Rose had not taken care of herself. But the case was closed two months later after Rose stopped engaging in planned home visits.

On the day the fire broke out, a neighbour heard Rose shouting and swearing before leaving the children alone to go to the supermarket. It emerged that social services had been repeatedly involved with the family, but had failed to follow up on planned work due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Laurie-Anne Power KC, defending, spoke of how social services had 'tiptoed' around Rose, whose mental health had been deteriorating.

She explained: "There was a clear decline in all aspects of Ms Rose's life. Her physical appearance, the home, her relationships, all those things we see she neglected. It is the job of people put in a position of authority charged with overseeing the health and safety of children to be robust and proactive, not to tiptoe around."

In her closing speech, Ms Power spoke of how Rose's mental health had been badly impacted by the Covid-19 lockdown, stating: "It was the most difficult time in our living memory. She had to deal with that on her own. If you take a vulnerable alcoholic, lock them in a pub and leave them there, there is an overwhelming likelihood that they will go back to drink."

A psychiatrist who diagnosed Rose with 'recurrent depressive disorder' also pointed toward 'clear evidence of deterioration in mental state in the weeks leading up to the incident'. Rose, who worked as a carer for the elderly had been signed off as not fit for work in April 2021.

Social services had been involved with the family between November 2018 and January 2020, and July and in September 2021. They had contacted Rose following an incident at school, but then 'disengaged' after the mother-of-four failed to show up to meetings.

Finley Boden

Finley Boden was murdered by his parents weeks after being placed back into their care on Christmas Day 2020. The 10-month-old's parents, Shannon Marsden and Stephen Boden, inflicted 130 injuries on their son before he fatally collapsed at his family home in Old Whittington, Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

Finley had fractures to his collarbones and thighs, while his pelvis had been broken in two places, possibly from sustained "kicking or stamping", with injuries likened to a multi-story fall. He also had two burns on his left hand - one "from a hot, flat surface", the other probably "from a cigarette lighter flame", the court heard.

The tot had been returned to their care on November 17 that year by a family court, despite social services raising concerns over Boden and Marsden's drug use and the state of the family home. Marsden and Boden were handed life sentences at Derby Crown Court in May.

In March, the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership published the findings of its Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into Finley's death. The review, which has been anonymised, said: "In this instance, a child died as the result of abuse when he should have been one of the most protected children in the local authority area."

It also stated that, while Finley's parents were responsible for his death, "professional interventions should have protected him". Most of what had been experienced by Finley in the final weeks of his life "was unknown to professionals working with the family at that time", the report said. But it added: "The review has found, nevertheless, that safeguarding practice during that time was inadequate."

Asiah Kudi

Asiah Kudi died aged 20 months in her cot after her mother Verphy Kudi, then 18, left her home alone in a Brighton flat to celebrate her birthday on a six-day trip. The infant died from dehydration and starvation and the effects of flu in December 2019. Kudi admitted manslaughter and was jailed for nine years in August 2021.

The inquest heard that social workers were worried about Asiah's care in the weeks before the tragedy. A series of incidents at the supported housing unit, Gochers Court, where Kudi lived with Asiah, raised concerns. Staff at the unit contacted social workers after watching CCTV of Kudi leaving her baby girl home alone. Steps were also taken to refer the case to Front Door for Families, that specialises in child safeguarding, but the referral was never made.

A safeguarding review by the Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership was published in 2022 and found Asiah's death could not have been predicted as staff at the YCMA Downslink believed Kudi was a capable and loving parent. However, the body's independent report recommended bringing in a system of daily checks and regularly reviewing every young parent in supported accommodation.

Bronson Battersby

Two-year-old Bronson Battersby was found dead at a property in Skegness, Lincolnshire, in January, curled up beside the body of his father, Kenneth. An inquest determined that the tot died of dehydration and starvation following the death of his father, Kenneth, 60, who had a pre-existing heart condition, shortly after Christmas.

Bronson was left in the dark without any food or water. He had been under children's services care, and when Lincolnshire County Council social workers visited the home on January 2 and 4, there was no answer. Police were called but there was another five day gap before Bronson and Kenneth's bodies were discovered, two weeks after the boy was last seen alive.

Bronson's mother Sarah Piesse, 43, told The Sun earlier this year: "If social services had done their job Bronson would still be alive. But they didn't do anything. I can't believe it. They can't let them get away with this. We have to be able to rely on social workers to keep our children safe."

Kate previously told the Mirror that Bronson's tragic death came at a particularly challenging time for the overstretched child protection sector. She explained: "This is incredibly tragic. Nothing can take away from how incredibly tragic this is. We've not just lost a little life, we've lost an adult life, and clearly there was work going on there to try and keep the family together.

"Sadly, what we need to recognise is that the Christmas period is an incredibly challenging period, for anybody working in, or around the child protection sector. Unlike every other holiday, Christmas is unique because at Christmas, pretty much every other supported service closes down. So nursery isn't open, any support services that parents are going to, close down.

"There are usually skeleton staff within social services, that's even harder if you have a social services team that's made up of agency workers, where local authorities may not be wanting to pay them over the Christmas period. It's really hard to get the right support to go out, it's really hard to get people to work with you over the Christmas period, and even the familial support that may be around, often isn't because they're visiting their own family."

Addressing the five-day gap between the phone call to police and the discovery of the bodies, Kate remarked that there can be 'tense working relationship between police and the local authority', both of which are 'utterly stretched' and 'struggling in terms of resources and staffing'.

Liam Fee

Vulnerable toddler Liam Fee was found dead at his home in Thornton, near Glenrothes, Fife, in March 2014, after falling 'off the radar'. As reported by BBC News, Liam, who was just two and a half years old at the time of his death, had suffered heart injuries comparable to those sustained by car crash victims after severe blunt force trauma was inflicted to his chest and abdomen.

More than 30 external injuries were found on Liam's body, including fractures to his arm and thigh. His mother Rachel Fee and her partner Nyomi Fee were convicted of murder, after initially attempting to blame his death on another young boy in their care.

Over the course of a seven-week trial at the High Court in Livingston, various witnesses stated that they had raised concerns about Liam's health and wellbeing with social services, including staff at his nursery and his childminder. A Significant Case Review into the toddler's death found there had been several missed opportunities to intervene and protect Liam.

Speaking before the court, a senior Fife social worker admitted that Liam 'fell off their radar'. Alan Small, Chair of Fife Child Protection Committee, said at the time: "Rachel Trelfa (Fee) and Nyomi Fee not only took the life of their child, but did their best to hinder the services that were there to help him. We deeply regret that our services did not do more to support Liam, and potentially prevent the tragic outcome of this case."

Adding that the review painted a picture of services that were deceived by 'devious and manipulative parents', Small continued: "There were missed opportunities across services to intervene and provide support to the family and services are aware that they could have done better to support Liam."

Sara Sharif

The body of 10-year-old Sara Sharif was found beneath a blanket in her bunk bed at her Woking home on August 10, 2023. A postmortem examination later determined that the little girl had suffered 'multiple and extensive injuries' over a 'sustained and extended' time period. Sara's father, Urfan Sharif, 41, stepmother, Beinash Batool, 29, and uncle Faisal Malik, 28, have all been accused of her murder and will stand trial in October 2024.

In October 2023, Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP) announced that there would be a safeguarding review into Sara's case. The review was intended to establish whether or not Sara's death could have been prevented, looking into all agencies that could have protected her, including police, social care, health, and education.

In a statement given at the time, SSCP's independent chairman, Derek Benson, said: "On behalf of the SSCP, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to anyone who knew and cared about Sara Sharif. Following Sara's tragic death in Woking, I can confirm that a local child safeguarding practice review will be undertaken.

"This review will be independently led by the SSCP and is a statutory process that will bring together partners including the police, health, social care and education to review the practice of all agencies involved with the family and identify any learning. This process is likely to take some time, and findings may not be shared by the SSCP until the partnership is assured that doing so will not prejudice any future legal proceedings."

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was just six years old when, in June 2020, he was murdered by his stepmother Emma Tustin, who subjected him to abuse and torture at his home in Solihull. His father Thomas Hughes, was also found guilty of manslaughter.

The court heard how little Arthur had been poisoned with salt, beaten regularly, and denied food and drink, before eventually suffering fatal brain injuries as a result of Tustin striking his head repeatedly against a hard surface. At the time of his death, Arthur had sustained 130 bruises.

In a National Review into Arthur's death, set up by The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, it was found that family members' concerns for his welfare were not taken seriously enough, while police and social workers failed to fully investigate bruises on Arthur's body.

The report, which urgently called upon the government to strengthen child protection system at both national and local levels, concluded that children in the area were facing significant risks due to failings, while inspectors expressed concern at incomplete police records that left children 'at risk of significant harm'.

Following the review, Arthur's cousin Bernie Dixon campaigned for social workers to wear bodycams to help prevent similar mistakes, and to allow for better reviews of home visits.

Star Hobson

Star Hobson, from Keighley, died in September 2020 following months of abuse by her mother, Frankie Smith, and her mother's partner, Savannah Brockhill. Bradford Crown Court heard how Brockhill had subjected the 16-month-old to 'kicking and stamping' in an attempt to 'toughen her up'.

Following her death, it was discovered that Star had sustained several fractured bones and broken ribs, as well as internal bleeding as a result of a 'severe blow or blows' to the abdomen. Smith was sentenced to eight years - which was increased to 12 on appeal - for causing or allowing her child's death. Brockhill was convicted of murder and handed a life sentence.

The National Review into the deaths of Star and Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, who died just months before, determined that, in Star's case, assessment visits were 'superficial', meaning that professionals had a 'limited understanding of what daily life was like for Star'.

The report said: "The growing weight of concerned voices speaking on behalf of Star should have prompted professionals to reconsider the escalating risks to her. The fact that she may have been experiencing serious and systematic physical and emotional abuse was never really considered and addressed."

Outlining the particular difficulties faced by social services during lockdown, when Star and Arthur were murdered, Kate explained: "Part of what a social worker does, and part of what they can do brilliantly, is to see what a parent or family isn't telling you.

"By visiting a family home, they can ascertain fairly quickly whether or not what a parent is telling you is going on is actually going on. Particularly in neglect cases. So they can, with permission, check the kitchen cupboards, they can check the children's bedding, they can check the back garden, they can check that the rubbish is being removed, they can check that the house is warm, that sort of thing."

During the coronavirus pandemic, however, social workers faced unprecedented restrictions. Kate said: "Nobody could go visit. So they were restricted to phone calls, they were restricted to - in the best case - video calls. But for anyone who was trying to do anything online over Covid, it won't come as a surprise to you that most people don't want to turn their cameras on. You can't force someone to turn their camera on."

Although there were still home visits when possible, Kate says this was far more challenging than usual. For example, if social workers weren't permitted entry into the house if the parent was vulnerable. This set of circumstances made it 'very easy' for parents to hide things that may have previously been spotted.

Kate also emphasised the strain that local authorities have had to deal with in terms of resources, and warned against turning such a tragic series of events into a 'witch hunt'. Kate, who has been in the field of child protection since the early 2000s, explained: "Frontline child protection work is incredibly difficult. The social care sector is dealing with so many more challenging cases - there aren't any simple cases anymore. Pretty much every case that comes through is multi-layered."

She added: "There aren't any resources around them for support. There isn't the multi-layered support that was available through what we call universal services. A lot of charities that were available to support have disappeared, partly due to Covid, partly due to funding, for a whole range of reasons. It's a thankless task, working in frontline child protection. One that's incredibly necessary, but it's incredibly misunderstood."

If you're worried that a child is at risk or being abused, contact your local children's social care team. You can call NSPCC to discuss your concerns on 0808 800 5000 or ChildLine on 0800 1111. If the child is at immediate risk, call 999.

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