Couple accused of abusing five children for 11 years

Cameron Cole and Phyllis Arthur pled not guilty at Stirling Sheriff Court

A Falkirk couple have gone on trial accused of subjecting five children in their care to 11 years of abuse.

Cameron Cole, 48, and Phyllis Arthur, 36, are said to have compelled the children to live in "squalid" conditions at a house where there was alleged to have been a dead pet stored in the freezer.

Mr Cole and Ms Arthur pled not guilty to five charges of wilful neglect, contrary to the 1937 Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act, and two charges of child assault at Stirling Sheriff Court.

The offences are said to have been committed between February 2011 and February 2022.

The house the children lived in was said to have inadequate furnishings, rubbish and dog excrement on the floors and they were alleged to have insufficient food and drink.

It is alleged one of the children was forced to eat their own excrement while another was repeatedly assaulted and threatened with prison.

Mr Cole faces an additional charge of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner

For legal reasons, none of the children – the oldest of whom was aged 14 - can be identified.

Sheriff Wyllie Robertson said the jury should "not be swayed" by their emotions, and decide the case "solely on the evidence presented in court."

The trial is expected to last up to two weeks.