THREE shabbily dressed and under- nourished children lived in a Hampshire house of astonishing squalor as their parents frittered their money away on drink, a court heard.

The youngsters - aged seven, five and two - suffered severe and chronic neglect as rubbish and excrement littered the property. Even their mother Louise Dean accepted their Totton home was "a complete pigsty".

An environmental health officer also made the bizarre discovery of the tail of the family's pet golden retriever sticking out from the ground in the back garden where it had been buried.

At Southampton Crown Court, prosecutor Charles Gabb described the children as "grubby, dishevelled, and barefoot, despite broken glass scattered on the floor".

Another environmental health officer made a room by room inspection and discovered:

The ground floor covered with food waste and refuse.

Rubbish one metre high in the dining room.

Refuse, dirty rags and clothing covering half the kitchen floor.

Filthy food storage cupboards and fridge.

Food waste and fruit flies in the living room with the walls coated with liquid or food.

Three bedrooms containing household refuse and numerous blowflies.

The bathroom floor soaked in urine.

Rubbish, old clothing, pieces of carpet and animal excrement scattered about the garden.

The squalor was in strong contrast to the smart property let to the family two years earlier. Within three months, it began to fall into disrepair and no housing officer was able to get into it, said Mr Gabb.

The children are now with foster parents and council workmen removed more than 21 tons of rubbish from the house and garden in two days. Residents in Mansergh Walk, Totton, today spoke about the couple.

Neighbour Thomas Glasspool, 55, said: "We didn't even see the kids there, they had gone by the time we'd moved in.

"I know when the couple went it took a long time for it to be cleaned out. It was disgusting. The people cleaning the house were there for ages. The people who lived there were always drunk."

Dawn Geard, who now lives in Dean's former property with husband Ian, 29, and their children, said: "We have heard rumours about what it was like before we moved in. The garden was still a bit of a state when we got here.

"We heard when they had an argument, the kids would go outside into the garden and smash things up. I suppose it was their way of dealing with it.

"We heard that she was due to go to court but didn't know anything about the rest of it. They used to have bonfires in the sitting room here to keep warm because the gas was cut off."

Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "We didn't really see them much, it's just a very sad case."

Dean, 33, pleaded guilty to three charges of causing unnecessary suffering.

The Daily Echo is only able to print her name after appealing successfully to the judge to overturn an order banning her from being identified. Proceedings against Dean's husband were dropped because he was found to be unfit to plead but Mr Gabb emphasised both were equally to blame. Dean also pleaded guilty to driving

dangerously, with excess alcohol, with two defective tyres and without insurance and a licence.

Southampton Crown Court heard while she was on bail for the neglect offences, she smashed into the back of another vehicle which in turn crashed into a third. Imposing a two-year jail sentence and a five-year driving ban, Judge John Boggis QC told Dean he was concerned the children may blame themselves over the neglect.

"But they don't have to and I am relieved to hear you had no contact with them since the spring of last year."

In mitigation, Matthew Jewell described how Dean had got involved in a relationship with a much older man who had mental difficulties.

"She began to drink, became ill, drank more and didn't seek help. Their relationship is over. She has a new partner with settled accommodation and her life has taken a turn for the better."