Six children 'beaten with wooden spoons, shut outside with the dogs and raped by their PARENTS'

A FATHER who allegedly raped his eldest daughter and a mother who poured scalding noodles over her child's head have appeared before a court accused of wilful neglect.

The couple's six children told how they were beaten with kitchen implements , starved, and locked outside with the family's dogs. The children, aged between 3 and 13 years, and who cannot be named for legal reasons, said they were forced to sneak into the kitchen at night in an attempt to find food. They accused their father, spotted by one child putting white powder up his nose, of raping the eldest girl, who is not his biological daughter. Both parents, who cannot be named in order to protect their children's identities, yesterday denied wilful neglect of the kids over three years from 2010. The father denies three counts of rape, one of attempted rape, and one of sexual assault.

Prosecutor Paul Valder told jurors at Guildford Crown Court: "As parents the defendants were violent towards their children. They neglected their health, they neglected their development and put their own selfish needs first. One child told how there was "never enough food" in the family home. He said his parents would forget to prepare meals after locking themselves in their room all day.

Mr Valder described numerous acts of alleged violence against the children, including beatings with kitchen utensils and a plimsole. He said: "[A son] said [his father] would hit them with a wooden spoon. He said sometimes he would hide in a cupboard or wardrobe to avoid being hit. "He said [his father] would hit them all the time, smack them on the back of the legs. It wasn't as bad when [his mother] smacked them.

The children told the court how their mother would pull their hair, pinch them until they bruised, and slap them so hard it left imprints from her fingers on their skin.

And they said that the pair were often violent to each other, threatening one another with knives or smashing cups at each other.

Valder added: "[A daughter] described things at home as being scary. Another told how she was locked outside with the dogs so her parents could have sex."

"[One girl] was helping to make dinner and it seems she used the wrong ingredients. Her mother then tipped it over her head - she remembers being covered in sauce and it really stinging."

The children were allegedly told to cover for their parents, saying they had fallen off their bikes. In some cases they were prevented from going to school so their injuries would not be discovered.