An evil mother who treated her two children like dogs and kept them locked in their bedrooms in conditions so cold they caught frostbite, was jailed for
18 months today.
Over a five-year period
Linda Clappison's children were beaten, starved, forced to do manual labour instead of going to school, given cold baths as punishment and shut up in the dark.
Both children had to sleep in their underwear and without bedding or a mattress in a room devoid of toys,
and required hospital treatment for frostbite in winter, Hull Crown Court was told.
Mrs Clappison, 46, even managed to fool social services by getting out toys and snacks for a visit and 'made it look like happy families.'
Son Andrew Clappison told the court he endured the living hell between the ages of 10 and 16 and even attempted suicide.
The daughter, now aged 13 who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered similar appalling treatment between six and 11.
She had her head shaved five times by her mother so she didn't look too pretty.
Mother-of-four Clappison of Keyingham, East Yorkshire, was convicted of child cruelty last month.
[...]
Andrew said Clappison punched, slapped and kicked him, beat him with a leather belt and banged his head against a wall for no reason.
The worst punishment was being given a cold bath and dunked under the water.
He said: 'I was scared of her. I had to have my tea in my room. She would not let me come downstairs. When I wanted to go to the toilet, I had to ask by knocking on the door and asking to leave.
'It was the same if I wanted a drink of water. I was treated like a dog basically.'
In January 2010 Clappison removed his mattress when she caught him trying to keep warm under it. Toys and the light bulb were also taken out.
He said: 'I was sleeping in the cold all the time. The boiler was working because it was in my room but I had no radiator. I used to wake up with blue feet I was that sick. My feet got frost bite.'
[...]
He said he became weak and thin after being fed a diet of chocolate spread sandwiches - while his mother cooked hot meals for herself.
He said: 'It was so unhealthy it was stupid. At one point I was sick until she gave me something to eat. I got to starving point. I was shaking.' Adding: 'I felt complete rubbish. I wished I was dead.'
Andrew said his mother befriended a gypsy fortune teller and as a result he was forced to work unpaid with travellers on a market stall and at a fair, sometimes until midnight.
The daughter said she was locked in her bedroom in similar conditions, also given only sandwiches and had her toys taken away at 10.
She said: 'Some days she would not give us anything to eat.' The court heard she screamed when her mother forcibly shaved her head and was ordered to lie about it being her own idea 'because she wanted to look like Britney Spears.'
She also worked on the market stall, cleaning dogs and sweeping up.
The case came to light after the girl went to school and told teachers she did not want to go home to her mother.
[...]
Clappison hated her oldest son and daughter, who had left home when the abuse started. According to her probation report she has no wish to be reconciled with any of her children.
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Originally Posted by AngelFire
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