This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/6469849.stm

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Foster mother guilty of cruelty Foster mother guilty of cruelty
(10 minutes later)
A foster mother who punished children in her care by ramming sticks down their throats has been convicted of abuse spanning 20 years. A foster mother who punished three children in her care by ramming sticks down their throats has been convicted of abuse spanning 20 years.
Eunice Spry, 62, from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, was convicted of 26 charges and cleared of 12 charges.Eunice Spry, 62, from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, was convicted of 26 charges and cleared of 12 charges.
The prosecution described Spry's treatment of the children as "horrifying" and "sadistic." The prosecution said Spry's treatment was "horrifying" and "sadistic."
Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board said it was important lessons were learnt from the case. Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board said: "She deliberately set out to deceive...all of the agencies involved over a 20-year period."
The offences took place in two of Spry's homes in Gloucestershire between 1986 and 2005.The offences took place in two of Spry's homes in Gloucestershire between 1986 and 2005.
She was found guilty at Bristol Crown Court of a range of charges from unlawful wounding, cruelty to a person under 16, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation.She was found guilty at Bristol Crown Court of a range of charges from unlawful wounding, cruelty to a person under 16, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation.
The jury heard that the children were forced to drink bleach and eat their own vomit.The jury heard that the children were forced to drink bleach and eat their own vomit.
Constant punishment
One of the foster children told a news conference how his childhood was "incredibly tough" and that he was never able to do anything good enough to please his foster mother.
"She'd always punish me for the slightest thing. These punishments would be anything from being forced to stay awake all night and constantly being beaten with sticks and poles all over my body.
"It was agonising but we had to get used to it. I was deprived of mixing with other children my age. I didn't go to school but I received minimal education at home.
"My foster mother never showed me any love or encouragement, only negativity or abuse. She locked me up in the bedroom once with my sister for about a month. I can't even remember what I had supposedly done wrong," he said.
Spry, a devout Jehovah's witness, denied all the claims made against her and said the only physical punishment she ever used was "a smack on the bottom".Spry, a devout Jehovah's witness, denied all the claims made against her and said the only physical punishment she ever used was "a smack on the bottom".