Pair starved children in Glasgow house piled with rubbish

A man and woman have been found guilty of neglecting four young children who were starved and forced to live in a house piled with rubbish.

Shane Curran, 47, and Nicola McCall, 44, exposed the three girls and one boy to drugs – including amphetamine – while living in the dirty “dump” of a house in Glasgow’s southside.

One chid said she had to steal money so she could get something to eat.

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

Jurors heard how three of the children also suffered physical violence. One girl described being “rag-dolled” by McCall.

Both were also convicted of assaulting one girl, while Curran was found guilty of attacking a boy and McCall another of the girls.

The pair were found guilty of wilfully ill-treating and neglecting all four children. The charges spanned between April 2010 and August 2016.

Procurator fiscal Carrie Stevens said there was a “consistent failure” to keep the victims safe and comfortable.

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

Pre-recorded evidence from the children was played during the trial.

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

The court heard there was “never any food in the cupboards” and the children were “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 children also suffered with severe head lice.

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

The court heard how the moods of Curran and McCall would change when they took drugs.

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

The trial also heard how there were drugs in the property dangerously accessible to the children.

And one of the girls was once left unsupervised on a balcony.

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

“You might think that sums up the attitude of both and the sadness, frustration and confusion felt by the children.”

Curran and McCall denied the charges, while effectively claiming the victims were lying about the violence.

Sheriff Stuart Reid adjourned the case for reports, pending sentencing in the new year.