Grandmother jailed for keeping vulnerable neighbours as slaves

Wheelchair-bound Jean Kelly incarcerated a mother and daughter with learning difficulties, forced them to eat uncooked pasta and beat them with a baseball bat she named Bob.

The court heard victim Karen Jenkins, 27, moved to Shropshire to "get away from the pain" her and her mother, Kate Dagley, 45, were subjected to.

Kelly, 53, of Tile Hill, Coventry, was found guilty of two charges under the Modern Slavery Act, one count of grievous bodily harm, three counts of actual bodily harm and conspiracy to falsely imprison at a trial at Warwick Crown Court.

She was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

The court heard Jenkins was found in a severely malnourished state after having to eat scraps of food from the bin.

She was kept as a slave and forced to sleep on the floor where the Kelly's daughter, Anastasia Hitt, 25, lived with her partner Ian Healy, 29, and their baby.

Jenkins and her mother were kept prisoner by Kelly and her husband, Michael, 43, at their home where they were both made to clean flats, feed the dog and change a baby's nappies.

Jenkins moved to Shropshire shortly after the ordeal, before moving further north, the court was told.

Sentencing Kelly, judge Anthony Potter, said: "I have to sentence you in respect of eight offences.

"They reflect the extensive evidence the jury have heard of the constant bullying, belittling and abuse you carried out against Karen Jenkins and Kate Dagley - both women with learning difficulties you were well aware of.

"You treated them in an utterly barbaric manner with your daughter, her partner and your partner.

"The fact human beings can be treated like this in the UK by other members of a civilised society in the 21st century is profoundly shocking."

The court heard how Kelly reduced the victims access to their own flat, their ability to wash and remain clean and their ability to feed themselves.

"It was obvious to you that Karen was vulnerable," he added. "Both her and her mother suffered from cognitive impairment. Your treatment of Karen and Kate has had a long-standing effect on both of them."

Kelly was previously jailed for 18 months in 2014 for abusing her step-brother, who also has learning difficulties, by pouring boiling water over him and beating him with crutches.

The victims were saved when police raided the flats where the women were being kept following an anonymous tip-off.

Jenkins had suffered extensive facial injuries, a fractured breastbone and a broken finger.

Her mother was also found with two fractures to her back, two broken ribs and bruises all over her face.

Michael Kelly and Healy were also jailed for 14 years, while Hitt was sentenced to four years and six months in prison.