Vulnerable boy scrawled 'help me' on wall after shocking neglect left him half-blind

A Serious Case Review is under way into the case after the youngster lost the sight in one eye after missing hospital appointments and being kept in a filthy, mouse and fly-infested house.

But an interim report by a social worker has already discovered the child, now 12, was subject to neglect dating from 2007.

And it says social workers had several chances to help after concerns were raised by doctors and a school nurse over six years.

The boy eventually scrawled 'help me' on a wall outside his dirty bedroom in a desperate cry for help.

The youngster was finally rescued after social workers succeeded in getting into the boy's home in August 2013 - a month after being alerted by a GP.

One of the social workers noticed then that boy had gone blind in one eye, a process that had been happening for at least six months.

The boy and other children were removed from the house in Thornaby, Cleveland and his mother and her partner were arrested.

In an unusual move, a judge allowed the identification of the boy's mother, Gillian Hendry, and her partner, Craig Dick, before they were sentenced last month.

The couple, who are both 34, admitted cruelty.

Hendry was jailed for two and-a-half-years and Dick was jailed for two years and two months.

The court heard how the child had an arthritic condition and concerned doctors called in social services when they failed to take him to appointments.

If he had been taken to hospital, his sight may have been saved.

The preliminary social workers report - which will form part of the serious case review - claims that the boy's school first alerted social services in 2007, when he was six and still wearing pull-up nappies.

However it was decided not to intervene further.

Hospital consultant Dr Fiona Clarke raised the alarm again in 2009, telling social services he was missing hospital appointments and that he could be left severely disabled.

However there was no house visit.

In 2010, a school nurse raised the alarm with social services after finding the home infested with mice and no heating or hot water.

A social worker in Middlesbrough - where they were living at the time - is said to have visited the home, but found conditions had improved and closed the case.

In 2011 after the boy had moved to Thornaby and was now living with Craig Dick, the consultant doctor again called social services to warn boy was so dirty he was at risk of infection.

However social services did not undertake an assessment because the child's school said it had no hygiene concerns.

In August 2012, the consultant again contacted social services but it took eight months for social services to visit.

A social worker said the house was "an acceptable standard" but did not see the children's bedrooms and closed the case.

The report tells of the moment a social worker asked the boy about his eye in 2013: "The boy reported that he was blind in his left eye.

"He said he remembered his sight being sticky then cloudy before going black.

"Miss Hendry appeared to be oblivious to his eye and claimed to be unaware that the boy was unable to see."

During the court case photographs showed the appalling state of the family home, where they also had a two-year-old daughter.

Social workers and a police officer found faeces and urine in both the children's bedrooms.

The boy was questioned more, with the report stating: "He told the social worker that when he used to wake up at his home, he had to tend to his little sister."

On a later visit, made after the children were removed from the home, a social worker noticed the words 'help me' written outside the boy's bedroom.

His mother said he wrote it on the first day the social worker visited.

Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham said: "This has been a tragic situation for this young boy, and it is clear there needs to be a full and detailed inquiry into why he was let down.

"There have clearly been failings and it is important we learn about them and the actions taken as a result of them, but we need to wait the outcome of the review."

Stockton council said the authority and other agencies were taking part in an independent Serious Case Review initiated by the Stockton Local Safeguarding Children Board and said both the boy and his sister were doing well.

A spokesman for Middlesbrough Council said Middlesbrough social workers had not been involved since 2010 and had ensured improvements had been made in his home conditions, as well as his appearance and school attendance and that "the case was therefore closed".

Colin Morris, the independent chairman of the Stockton Local Safeguarding Children Board, said: "We are aware of this very sad case and a serious case review is already well under way having been initiated in June."