A mum who blamed their children for poor living conditions after faeces were found smeared on the walls told a social worker: "you can take them".
Social services visited the home three times in April last year, on one occasion they found the youngest children were not potty trained and were wearing nappies "day and night", LiverpoolECHO reports.
There was also a toddler mattress on the floor of one bedroom with no duvet or bed sheets, exposed floor boards and there was faeces on several walls, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
The parents, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lived at home with their children who were all under the age of 16 - one of whom had a disability.
Prosecutor Chris Hopkins told the court of how there was a "strong smell of urine" in various parts of the house as well as a full potty in one of the rooms. There was just a few toys and there was broken furniture upstairs that posed a threat to the children.
Mr Hopkins added the mum of the children was "aggressive and argumentative" towards the social worker, in front of the children and on one occasion said: "You can take them, I've had enough."
One of the children had been found "locked in a room" and the parents had "made no improvements" to the upstairs area in one unannounced visit. Mr Hopkins added that both parents "put blame on the children" and "spoke negatively about them" as they said the children were "out of control".
At one point, when asked to clean a lightbulb, the dad used one of the children's toothbrushes. While both parents claimed they "had not neglected their children."
The court heard how at one point, it was heard a razor had been left out, harming a child, to which the mum replied they "won't do it again".
The court heard there was "evidence of fundamental failure", to which His Honour Judge Flewitt KC replied: "It's not just failure to understand because they were offered advice and support and rejected it."
The children have been since taken off the parents and were reported to now be "happy and content". He added they had been "very excited about having comfortable beds".
Defence counsel for the mum, Mr Michael Hagerty, said there had been a deterioration of family circumstances due to the lockdown, however the judge said this was "grossly offensive to the parents who looked after children in lockdown".
Mr Hagerty added the mum, who appeared emotional in the dock, accepted her behaviour amounted to neglect and therefore cruelty and said she "didn't know how to parent properly". He added: "The saddest thing of all is she accepts these children will be happier now."
Defence counsel for the dad, Ms Bernice Campbell, told the court that he describes himself as a "bad person" and misses his children as she added: "He has low mental views of what he's capable of."
Judge Flewitt said the home accommodation was "inadequate" and both parents were "blaming the children". He added: "You were prior to, and throughout, offered advice and support which you rejected or ignored."
Judge Flewitt said they could not rely on "ignorance or inadequacy, given the support offered to you". He said: "It's a source of some relief those children are in foster care, they are cared for, they are happy."
"You had no understanding, and in fact, no intention of understanding the needs or welfare of those children."
"The reality is, you were together in that house with joint responsibility for looking after those children."
Both parents were sentenced to 15 months custodial sentence. The judge said an immediate custodial sentence was needed to "punish you and act as a general deterrent to other people who care for children."
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