Father of teenager who was left to die 'suffering a living nightmare'

The father of a teenager who was left to "rot to death" in his own home is suffering a "living nightmare", a judge sentencing the youngster's mother and grandmother has been told.

Jordan Burling, 18, was said to have resembled the victim of a Second World War death camp when paramedics found him weighing just 6st, lying lifeless on a makeshift bed in his Leeds house, Leeds Crown Court has heard.

His 45-year-old mother Dawn Cranston and grandmother Denise Cranston, 70, were found guilty of manslaughter earlier this week.

At the beginning of a sentencing hearing on Thursday, Mr Burling's aunt, Susan Burling, read a victim statement on behalf of his father Steven.

Ms Burling said the family was trying to cope with a "living nightmare".

The statement said: "I just can't understand why all these horrific things have happened to me and my family."

Mr Burling's 25-year-old sister, Abigail Burling, was found not guilty of manslaughter but guilty of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable person.

The trial jury also heard how police found the decomposed body of a baby in the house.