SIX children were found living in a horrific "Victorian slum" surrounded by mountains of rubbish and dog poo.
Stomach-turning photos show the extent of squalid conditions – which included a bathtub full of used sanitary products and a rat infestation.
Police visited the Wirral property on several occasions and reported it to social services in 2018.
But it wasn't until officers went to the house again in 2021 that any action was taken, the ECHO reports.
They were called following reports of an argument between the parents, and cops were stunned by what they found, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
Trevor Parry-Jones, prosecuting, said: "What they were confronted with could only be described as a scene of unutterable squalor, more reminiscent of the Victorian slum era than the 21st century.
"The officers perhaps generously described it as disgusting."
Empty Pot Noodle pots and soiled nappies were "strewn" all over the floors and there was "dog faeces" throughout the house, he added.
Mouse droppings and discarded takeaway packaging covered the "trashed" kitchen floor, while plug sockets had "burned out".
"The bathroom was unusable, the toilet filthy, not having been cleaned for some considerable time, and there was a rodent infestation," Mr Parry-Jones said.
And the kid's bedrooms were so "filthy" there was even a dead rat inside one of their drawers, images show.
A victim statement from one of the children, read out in court, described the house as "an absolute dump" and "not fit to be lived".
They also said there was no running water and "dog poo all over the place", which was "disgusting".
The children's mum and dad were immediately arrested while the youngsters were given clean clothes, nappies and food and taken into care.
The parents, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the kids, have since admitted child cruelty and will be sentenced in November.
The mum blamed working "very long hours" and confessed the bathroom hadn't been used "for years", while the dad claimed he had cleaned up about a month before the pictures were taken.
It has been more than a decade since checks were first made about the house, and seven since police first visited and informed social services.
Further checks were made in 2015 and 2017 because some of the children were not attending school, followed another by police in 2018, and again in 2021.
Judge Andrew Menary, QC, demanded answers as to why nothing was done sooner and ordered welfare reports on all six children.
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