TWO people from near Whitchurch have been jailed for neglect after children were found living around live ammunition and mould.

The pair, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, were sentenced to a minimum of 10 weeks in prison by District Judge Gwyn Jones at Mold Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon.

They had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two counts each of cruelty and failure to protect a child from neglect, and were given two concurrent sentences of 20 weeks each, with half served on licence.

The court had heard that police visited the family’s property in November 2020 to speak with the woman after concerns were raised by the children's school, but on arrival began to inspect the property because of its squalid nature.

In footage shown to the court, officers commented that the house had a foul odour and there was black mould found on the walls of one child’s room.

A caravan was found with a sleeping bag and colouring set inside, and police said this suggested one of the children had been sleeping in there.

The man worked long hours away from home from Monday to Friday in order to provide for the family, but was aware the house was in a poor condition, and that there was loose firearms ammunition on the floor and the mould in the bedroom.

The pair argued that children in the property were aware they should not touch the ammunition but in sentencing them, District Judge Jones said that this showed a lack of care by the defendants.

The female defendant was also sentenced separately for drink-driving offences, and was given 18 weeks to run concurrently after dropping the children off at school while twice the drink driving limit. It was her second similar offence in three years.

The judge said: “This is a case where it’s clear the children have been placed in a position of being exposed to risk of serious harm.

“It is clear from the conditions in the home that steps would needed to be taken.

“While the children may have been aware of the ammunition rules, they are children and their curiosity could have gotten the better of them.

“There was scant regard for the safety of not only the children but to others.

“It must have been clear to him that, despite being away, things had to improve and by the nature of him being away, the children were in danger.

“The staff at the school have to be applauded for taking the step needed to ‘grass out’ one of their parents, but those members of staff took the view that the safety of the children and community had to take precedence.

“Those officers who attended the home were extremely concerned at the poor state of the house and the living conditions were inappropriate.

“The firearms were there and the excuse that they had forgotten to put them away lacks credibility.”

No separate firearms charges were brought.

There were no costs.