A cruel couple held hands in a crown court dock as they were each sent to prison.

Builder Aaron Drew, 26, and weeping lover Roxanne King, 25, had admitted five charges of cruelty.

The couple, formerly of Fox Street, Gillingham, and now of Eden Avenue, Chatham, were told their "horror" crimes were "truly shocking".

Judge Adele Williams read accounts of the victims being found in an emaciated condition and eating wallpaper.

Faeces was found on the floor and in victims' hair.

The judge said: "This was a truly shocking scene" , adding it showed signs of "squalor and filthy conditions", and "evidence of food not being thrown away".

Speaking at Maidstone Crown Court defence lawyer John Fitzgerald, acting for King, said she realised it had been "a horror show" but claimed it had not been done maliciously.

Police had been alerted in July 2017 after receiving reports of hour-long screams.

The judge told the couple they must have known the misery they were causing but had never asked for help.

Both were jailed for three years.

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