A police officer called to the home of a couple who kept over 30 dogs in a three-bedroom house with seven children said it was "unequivocally one of the most awful addresses I have ever been in".

Christopher Bennett, 35, and Gemma Brogan, 41, from Eastbourne have been jailed for six years each for child neglect after a judge told them they had shown "profound indifference".

Police were called to their then address in Eastbourne after a report of a domestic incident there in June 2021.

They were appalled at the filthy condition of the house, from which 35 dogs were taken into safe keeping.

The whole house smelled strongly of dog waste.

"It is impossible to paint an accurate picture of the full extent of degradation and filth these vulnerable children had to endure," said Detective Constable Fiona Ashcroft of the East Sussex safeguarding investigations unit.

"It is unequivocally one of the most awful addresses I have ever been in.” 

DC Ashcroft said officers were "shocked" at the state of the property.

"The stench, as you entered the hallway, hit officers hard – they were not able to breathe normally due to it.

"The state of the whole house was shocking and repugnant. It was cluttered and was strewn with discarded clothing, litter, rotting food and animal faeces.

"It looked as if it had been filthy for a number of years."

The Argus: Gemma Brogan, 41, was jailed for 6 yearsGemma Brogan, 41, was jailed for 6 years (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

Officers removed a seven-year-old child who was covered in dog faeces and sleeping near a dead dog.

Judge Stephen Mooney told the couple they had put themselves first while the children lived in squalor.

“You frittered away £7,000 a month which should have been spent on the children.

“It is impossible for any person to comprehend the enormity of your failings."

The children were victims of prolonged serious neglect and deliberate disregard for their welfare, the judge said.

“This was wilful neglect,” Amy Packham, prosecuting, told Lewes Crown Court.

The Argus: Christopher Bennett, 35, was jailed for 6 yearsChristopher Bennett, 35, was jailed for 6 years (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

Both Bennett and Brogan pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after being prosecuted by the RSPCA during separate cases in February and August this year.
The couple were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on Friday, having pleaded guilty on May 9 to seven counts of child neglect.