A couple have been found guilty of cruelty against an adopted son. Both parents were convicted of ill-treating the boy, now aged 14, by locking him in his room for long periods without letting him out to go to the toilet.

The father, aged 49, was also found guilty by a jury at Teesside Crown Court of beating the boy about the head and assaulting a 17-year-old girl by slapping and kicking her.

The couple, from Spennymoor, were both cleared of a joint count of cruelty to their adopted daughter, now aged 16.

The mother, aged 54, was also acquitted of five further charges of cruelty, including an allegation that she forced the boy to eat a pet rabbit in a pie after he let it out of its cage and it was savaged by their Alsatian dog.

The father was cleared of two other counts of ill-treatment and of assaulting the adopted girl by breaking her finger.

The case was adjourned for pre-sentence reports after the jury had spent ten hours over their verdicts.

The couple were granted bail.

The children are now back in the care of social workers.