UNITED KINGDOM:A Zimbabwean girl, whose asylum- seeker mother made an informal fostering arrangements 10 years ago was made to kneel in scalding water by her “racist” foster family, a court has heard.
The youngster, now 12, was also shut outside and bitten by her foster parents’ Rottweiler dogs, a family judge said.
She also said the foster family, who had other pets including a large pig, had more warmth for the animals than they did for the child.
Concerns the girl was not getting enough to eat were first raised by her school.
When social services got involved she was found to have been left physically scarred and “deeply traumatised” by her treatment, Judge Sarah Singleton said.
The girl, whose mother was a black Zimbabwean asylum-seeker, was placed with the white British family 10 years ago under an “informal fostering arrangement”.
Judge Singleton said the family treated her with “cold contempt”.
Giving evidence, the foster mother repeated the “highly-offensive N word with alarming facility”, the judge added.
And the foster father was said to have described the little girl as “strange and disturbed”, adding: “Maybe it was because she was African.”
The girl has since been removed from the Lancashire couple but it is unclear if they will face any criminal charges.ITV
