Father Who Is Too Lazy to Claim Unemployment Benefit Tells Son That 'God Will Provide'
A jobless man was arrested for allowing his five-year-old son to live in squalid conditions in their filthy home in Britain. The 36-year-old parent was too lazy to even claim unemployment benefits which could run to at least £70 a week, but he instead told his son that "the Lord will provide."
Police who came over to the man's two-bedroom flat near Bristol in March last year to rescue the boy were disgusted by what they saw. All the rooms were littered with feces from two dogs they kept in the house. Inside the refrigerator can be found a carton of milk and two apples bought from the previous month.
There were bolts and screws on the living room floor and gardening equipment with exposed blades in the kitchen which could be hazardous for the boy. Used plates and utensils were left unwashed. Instead of hygiene toiletries, the bathroom floor was covered with old toilet rolls and bin bags.
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Teachers said the boy suffered academically, and they were concerned about his wellbeing. They testified that the kid attended school unwashed, smelly and tired. The house was so messy the child had no place to sleep on. They also figured that fleas kept him up most of the night.
The sister of the accused told the court she and her kids went to clean up the house one time. "One of the rooms I couldn't even go in. I had to walk out. I felt sick," she said. She also brought food and cooked roast dinner, but when she returned next weekend, she found that the dishes they used weren't washed up.
The man, who couldn't be identified to protect his son, said he struggled with being a single parent. The school made him go to a food bank after the boy claimed he only had toast at home. When a teacher offered to refer the boy to social care, he threatened to withdraw his son from school.
The man is charged with child cruelty. "He was in the cupboard smoking cannabis every so often," his 15-year-old niece said. "You could tell there was something wrong – he was a little bit high," she added. U.K.'s unemployment rate is at its lowest level since 1975, indicating that the accused could find the job if he wanted to.
