Kaylea Titford: Police and paramedics describes horrors they were met with and impact it had on them

Her father Alun Titford, 45, and mother Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 40, were both jailed today after the judge said they were both 'equally responsible' Credit: Dyfed Powys Police/PA

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Emergency services have shared how they were left feeling "physically sick" upon finding the "rotting" body of a 16-year-old in her bed, a judge said today.

Kaylea Titford, 16, who suffered from spina bifida, was found dead at her home in Newtown, Powys in October 2020.

She was found in conditions described as “unfit for any animal”, in soiled clothing and bed linen.

Today (1 March), a judge sentenced the teenager's parents, Alun Titford, from Newtown, Powys, and Sarah Lloyd-Jones, for manslaughter by gross negligence.

Speaking at Swansea Crown Court, Mr Justice Martin Griffiths said Kaylea's parents allowed the teenager's condition to deteriorate so much that she died.

Kaylea weighed 22st 13lb with a BMI of 70 at the time of her death Credit: Athena Picture Agency

Mr Justice Griffiths told the pair that even the most experienced police officers and paramedics retched and felt "physically sick" as Kaylea lay in her "own filth, surrounded by flies which bothered her and maggots which fed on her."

The court heard how the 16-year-old's condition worsened and the family’s spending on takeaways increased.

In the three months before her death, the household had spent a total of £1,035.76 on takeaway food.

Kaylea Titford's bedroom was filled with clutter including food waste and urine bottles Credit: Dyfed Powys Police.

Mr Griffiths said: “The stench created as her body rotted away alive, and from the excrement left to dry unattended around and on her body, and in the room, made paramedic and police officers of long experience retch and feel physically sick when they attended on the body."

The courd heard her bedrooms was littered with clutter including foot waste and urine bottles.

Kaylea had not returned to school since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 and did not see a doctor for at least nine months before her death.

One doctor providing evidence even said the "consequences of neglect" were the worst he had seen in 30 years of practice.

She had also been restricted to her bed for more than six months, since the beginning of the Covid lockdown.

The court heard that her bedsheets were soiled and she was lying on a number of puppy toilet training pads Credit: Dyfed Powys Police.

Caroline Rees KC, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court: “By the time of her death between 9 and 10 October, Kaylea Titford was living in conditions unfit for any animal, let alone for a vulnerable 16-year-old girl who depended on others for her care."

The court heard Kaylea was "eating, sleeping and defecating" from her bed" as Ms Rees added: "The last months of Kaylea Titford's life must have been horrendous."

Passing sentence on Lloyd-Jones and Titford, the judge said they had committed “shocking and prolonged neglect over lockdown”.

On Wednesday 1 March, Sarah Lloyd-Jones was sentenced to six years imprisonment.

Alun Titford was sentenced to seven years, six months imprisonment.

Both were told they must serve two-thirds of their sentences in custody before being considered for release.

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