Kaylea Titford: Questions how neglected teen 'dropped off radar'

How a teenager "dropped off the radar" before her death has been questioned by a child protection expert.

Kaylea Titford, 16, who had spina bifida, died in "squalor" at her home in Newtown, Powys, in October 2020.

David Niven said it was "ironic" her mother Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 40, was a carer and he called her father Alun Titford, 45, "a lazy waste of space".

Lloyd-Jones admitted gross negligence manslaughter, while Titford was found guilty after a trial.

A spokesman for Powys council said a child practice review would be carried out by the local authority and involve all relevant agencies following a clear statutory framework.

Mr Niven said Kaylea "completely slipped through the cracks", adding: "The number of people who would have been involved with a 16-year-old girl, who had a severe impairment and was known, and then suddenly dropped off the radar.

"I think there was somebody along the line who could have pushed a button."

Kaylea weighed almost 23st (146 kg) when she died.

Mr Niven questioned if anybody in the community could have noticed any warning signs, on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"Were there extended family? Were there neighbours? Did she talk to people on social media? She certainly talked to the school, even if she didn't attend it, the medics must have been providing something for her spina bifida," he said.

"Effectively, there were plenty of people in the community, given her involvement beforehand, who could have at least said 'has anybody talked to, seen or visited Kaylea?'"

Mr Niven said during the pandemic "presumably nobody was going into the house" and "nobody was saying this is a child at risk".

"At any one moment, if any agency who was closer to Kaylea like police, medics or her school, they could have made a referral to social services at any time, and I don't believe they did," he said.

Mr Niven was asked what could be done to stop similar cases happening again, and replied: "You don't, I'm afraid to say bluntly, but we can improve things.

"Maybe there won't be any particular person to blame here except the parents, I don't know, but certainly there is quite a lot to be reminded about and learned.

"At the end of the day, we must remember that children can't always speak for themselves."

Meanwhile, the Welsh Conservatives said Kaylea's death was "clearly preventable" and she was "betrayed by careless and negligent people".

Tory social services spokesman Gareth Davies added: "But we need to see whether there was failure on the part of the local authority and health board in regards to the case because we cannot allow poor practice to continue.

"We saw Covid being used as an excuse by Bridgend council in the case of Logan Mwangi - that is an unacceptable situation and I certainly hope it won't be used by Powys during the promised child practice review."

Montgomeryshire Member of the Senedd Russell George added: "This is a heart-breaking case where a child with a disability was horribly let down by family members that were supposed to take care of her.

"I believe the case also highlights one of the negative impacts of lockdown policies that severely cut off vulnerable people from support lines - not only like friends, neighbours, and other family, but health and social authorities too."

Titford and Lloyd-Jones will be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on 1 March.