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Baby of, “Fat Family” from Dundee, Scotland taken into, “Care”

A highly controversial case of Scotland’s so-called “fat family” took a dramatic twist yesterday, when a council moved to take all the children into care just a day after the parents’ newborn daughter was taken from a maternity ward by social workers. Removed from her parents over fears she would become dangerously overweight.

At the time the mother pleaded, “I just want my wee girl home. She’s only a day old.”

Just 28 hours after the mother gave birth, social workers arrived at the maternity ward to take the baby into care, after serving child protection papers on the parents.

Three children had already been removed by social services before the infant was taken from her mother within hours of her birth. The parents have now learned that their three other children will be taken away from them too after a meeting of the Children’s Panel of Dundee Council who are influenced by reports from Social Workers.

Before becoming pregnant, the mother, 40, who cannot be named for legal reasons, weighed 23st. The father, 54, is 18st.

At that time one of her children, a toddler, weighed 4st, her 13-year-old son weighed 16st and an 11-year-old weighing 12st.

The father who was at the Children’s Panel hearing, said: “The panel members wouldn’t listen to me.

“They would only listen to the social workers. They were accusing me and my wife of physical and emotional abuse and physical neglect – and we deny all that.

“I have lost all my children and I am completely devastated.”

The family first came to the attention of social services in March 2008 when they asked for help in caring for the children, including the three-year-old girl, who has developmental problems.

But social workers who visited the family were shocked at the size of them including a 21-month-old boy, who they claimed was overweight at 1st 12lb.

The council then took the radical step of threatening the mother and her husband that, unless all the children lost weight, they would be removed from the family home.

They were also ordered to send their children to dancing and football lessons to help them lose weight.

The family say they were also warned that their six children would be take into care if they failed to lose weight.

At the time, the mother said of social services: “They keep making an issue about the kids’ weight. I don’t even own a deep-fat fryer.”

On September 20, two of their children, aged three and five, were taken into care and joined their eldest who was already there.

Now their remaining children at home could be taken away within a week.

A spokesman from the council said: “We will not comment in detail on any family with whom we are involved, but we have made it clear on numerous occasions that children would not be removed from a family environment just because of a weight issue.”

He added: “Any decision about a child’s situation is given full and careful consideration.

“It is never taken lightly and always at the forefront is what is the best course of action for the welfare and safety of the child.

“The decision to remove children from any parent’s care on a compulsory basis is not made by councils but by the children’s hearing system.”

In July this year, it was reported that Dundee City Council had signed a one-year £114,000 contract with private ‘minders’ to stop them from over-eating.

         

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