Pair left children starving in 'dump' of a house piled with rubbish in Glasgow

A man and woman are facing jail for the horrific neglect of four young children.

Shane Curran, 47, and Nicola McCall, 44, left the youngsters starving while living in a dirty “dump” of a house piled with rubbish in Glasgow’s southside.

One told how she was forced to steal money simply to get something to eat.

Jurors heard how the children were exposed to drugs – including amphetamine – being in full view in the house.

Three of the young victims also suffered physical violence including one girl who described being “rag-dolled” by McCall.

Curran and McCall were convicted following a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

They were both found guilty of wilfully ill-treating and neglecting all four children.

The pair were also convicted of assaulting one girl, while the jury further found Curran guilty of attacking a boy and McCall another of the girls.

They had their bail continued pending sentencing in the New Year.

The charges spanned a six-year period between April 2010 and August 2016.

In her speech to jurors, fiscal Carrie Stevens said there was a “consistent failure” by Curran and McCall to keep the victims “safe and comfortable” when they were with them.

The pair’s house was described as “chaotic and sub-standard”.

Pre-recorded evidence from the children speaking about their ordeals was played during the trial.

One of the girls described the property as “disgusting” and that Curran and McCall “did not clean or really care”.

Regarding meal times, the court heard there was “never any food in the cupboards” with the children “regularly deprived”.

The girl said: “I had to steal £100 to get food for me (and the other children) for about two days.”

Two of the youngsters also ended up suffering from severe head lice.

Jurors were told some of the victims were regularly punched, kicked, pulled and dragged by the hair.

The moods of Curran, now of Glasgow’s Easterhouse, and McCall, of the city’s Maryhill, would change when they took drugs.

Describing one incident with McCall, the girl explained: “She rag-dolled me, flung me onto the ground and bashed my head off the door.”

The trial also heard how illicit substances lying in the property dangerously “accessible” to the children.

One of the girls was once left unsupervised on a balcony.

Ms Stevens told jurors: “You might remember (one of the girls) saying Curran and McCall ‘did not care, so they did anything they wanted’.