A woman has been jailed after leaving her mother in deplorable conditions, wearing a faeces-stained jumper and sitting on a urine-soaked chair for three months.
Natasha Pammant’s 58-year-old mother was discovered in a dire state that could have been fatal if not for a concerned neighbour who contacted social services after hearing screams, Leeds Crown Court was told.
Payment and her mother shared a home with ‘no surface free of rubbish’, according to prosecutor Catherine Silverton (Picture: YorkshireLive/MEN Media)
When a social worker visited the home Pammant shared with her mother, she saw through the window that the woman had a “skeletal leg” and a “swollen ankle and foot.” Upon entering, the social worker was hit by a stench described as “like a sledgehammer.”
Prosecutor Catherine Silverton detailed the appalling scene, noting the house was infested with flies and the woman was slumped in a chair, covered in faeces, and had been sitting in urine for three months. Paramedics had to shower the woman to remove her from the chair before transporting her to the hospital.
The house was so filthy that it was hard to breathe inside. Upon their arrival, the woman, wearing the same jumper for a year, immediately asked paramedics for food.
Rubbish covered every surface, and the woman had faeces under her toenails and a severe pressure ulcer “down to the bone.” Silverton stated that these conditions indicated she had received little to no care for at least four months and could have died if neighbours hadn’t alerted social services.
The woman reported that Pammant and her partner had discarded her sofa, forcing her to stay in the chair. She also said she gave them her bank card for money, but they would leave her alone for days and refused her pleas for help.
The court heard that the woman suffered from numerous health issues, including asthma, COPD, depression, anxiety, self-neglect, and malnutrition.
Pammant, of Cartmell Drive, Halton, acknowledged the house’s disgusting state and admitted she should have called for medical assistance but claimed her mother refused it.
Her partner, Liam Leach, 26, of South Farm Road in Gipton, blamed the council and doctors for the woman’s situation and described Pammant as lazy.
A friend of the complainant said Pammant would make her mother wait until 6 pm for food and only cared for her to receive money.
During police interviews, Pammant claimed Leach was primarily responsible for taking her mother to the commode. Both Pammant and Leach pleaded guilty to charges of cruelty against a person in their care and a second offence.
Kristian Cavanagh, representing Pammant, argued that her poor upbringing and lack of emotional support from her mother contributed to her inadequacies and immaturity at the time of the offence.
Catherine Duffy, representing Leach, highlighted his significant vulnerabilities and noted that he had made progress in maintaining his home and garden. She also mentioned that Leach’s grandmother had died the morning of his sentencing.
Recorder Alex Menary sentenced both Pammant and Leach to 30 months in jail.
