Mother and grandmother jailed for killing teenager who 'rotted to death'

The mother and grandmother of a teenager who was allowed to "rot to death" on an inflatable mattress have been jailed for four years and three years respectively.

Jordan Burling was said to have resembled the victim of a Second World War death camp when paramedics found him lying on a makeshift bed in his Leeds home, weighing just 6st (38kg).

His 45-year-old mother, Dawn Cranston, and his grandmother, Denise Cranston, 70, were jailed at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday after they were found guilty of manslaughter earlier this week.

The judge, Mr Justice Spencer, told the three women it was "almost beyond belief" that Mr Burling "should have been allowed to die in his own house, here in Leeds, in 2016, in the bosom of his family".

He said the pictures of the teenager in an emaciated state were "hauntingly reminiscent of starving victims of extermination camps in the Second World War".

Earlier, Mr Burling's aunt, Susan Burling, read a victim personal statement on behalf of his father, Steven.

Ms Burling said the family were 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."