Woman arrested for child neglect in flat with 'faeces smeared on wall' (2025)

Shocking photos have revealed the squalid conditions of an ‘unbearable’flat after the former tenant was arrested on suspicion of childneglect.

The property in Faversham, Kent, shows the disgusting state of the flat where what appears to be faeces covers the walls and children’s toys sit on a filthy mattress.

Neighbours say the smell from the flat was so bad that they alerted police, thinking someone may have died.

But residents now fear for their own health, as the flat hasn’t been touched for almost four months after it was abandoned.

Police were first called in January after concerns were raised for the tenants, but officers found it abandoned.

The same day, officers arrested a 26-year-old woman outside of Kent on suspicion of childneglectand animal cruelty.

The scenes at the abandoned property have horrified neighbours, who are now calling for the housing association responsible for the property to carry out an urgent clean-up.

They show soiled, discoloured mattresses lying on the floor beneath walls smeared with what appears to be human faeces.

Every surface is covered with rubbish, including packets of rotting food and soiled clothes, which mingle with broken toys on the cluttered floor.

The stairs are barely visible beneath a thick coating of grime and litter, while one disturbing image shows a child’s doll lying on a dirty mattress beside empty snack wrappers and a broken bed frame.

‘It’s horrible – I can’t even put it into words,’ one anonymous neighbour said.

‘The smell was so bad that we thought someone had died up there. That’s why we called the police.

‘We are all incredibly upset that we have to deal with this. I smell it every single day. It makes me feel sick. The fact that children were living there is horrific. The flies are absolutely everywhere. It’s unbearable.’

The neighbour said that despite the tenant leaving the flat at the end of December 2024, no action has been taken to clean or secure the property.

Residents say they have contacted the housing association which manages the flat, multiple times since January, but claim no real action has been taken.

A spokesperson for Mears Living said: ‘We’re aware of the issues and work to clear and clean the property will start next week.’

But neighbours have had enough. One said: ‘I don’t want to live here anymore. The smell, the flies, the health risks – it’s like we’re being completely ignored.

‘It feels like no one cares. It’s been nearly four months and still nothing. It’s a nightmare. But it’s not just about the mess, it’s about being ignored.

‘It’s about having to fight for basic decency. No one should have to live like this.

‘The fact that children were living in this makes me feel sick to my stomach.’

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