Child neglect cases which have shocked Sheffield - including toddler dead for two days before anyone dialled 999

Lorna Hewitt, aged 43, and her husband Craig Hewitt, 42, both of Walkley Road, Walkley, were sentenced after being found guilty of false imprisonment and causing or allowing serious injury to a vulnerable adult.

They locked Lorna’s autistic son, Matthew Langley, in the attic of their family home, where he lived in squalor.

His plight was discovered when paramedics were called to the house in June 2021 when Matthew, in his early 20s, had collapsed.

Despite being 6ft tall, he weighed just six stone and was severely malnourished and dehydrated.

His room was covered in rubbish, excrement and vomit and there were flies in the room, which had a lock on the outside.

Matthew was so unwell when he was admitted to hospital, he was taken straight into intensive care but he has since made a full recovery.

MORE: Craig and Lorna Hewitt: CPS issues statement after couple found guilty of imprisoning son in attic

South Yorkshire Police said: “He is now a healthy and happy young man. He is now surrounded by the care and support he deserves to help him recover from the psychological effects of his experiences.

“I would like to reiterate that we take reports of abuse and neglect to vulnerable adults and children in South Yorkshire very seriously and work alongside partners to investigate all reports we get. If you have concerns, please report them - we will act.”

Sheffield Crown Court has heard a number of shocking neglect cases over the years.

One such case involved the neglect of three-year-old Tiffany Wright, who had been dead for at least two days before her mum and stepdad raised the alarm.

Tragic Tiffany starved to death in the flat above the pub her mum and stepdad ran – the Scarborough Arms in Upperthorpe – in 2007.

The toddler’s body was covered in insect bites after suffering a 'prolonged period of malnutrition' and 'utter neglect,' a report into her death revealed.

The flat was found covered in dog faeces when it was examined after Tiffany’s death.

Tiffany’s mother Mother Sabrina Hirst and her husband Robert were both jailed, with Sabrina, then 22, sentenced to 12 years after admitting manslaughter and child cruelty.

Her 44-year-old husband admitted two counts of child cruelty and was jailed for five years.

Sheffield Crown Court heard they had kept Tiffany in “squalor, filth and degradation” and “entirely neglected” her.

Tests revealed Tiffany had not eaten or drunk anything for at least 20 hours before her body was found.

Another neglect case which hit the headlines in Sheffield involved a Wincobank couple and their five children.

David Askew and Sarah Whittaker, both 24 at the time, were jailed for seven years each in 2004 after admitting child cruelty.

Their critically ill one-year-old twins were found “within hours of death” at their home and three other children - aged three, four and seven - were living in squalor in excrement-smeared bedrooms.

While Askew and Whittaker enjoyed a life of comforts and luxuries downstairs, their children were neglected upstairs.