A chef who pushed his step-daughter’s head down a lavatory bowl and flushed the cistern as a punishment has been jailed.
He also made other children in the family line up in front of a fire until their legs were red from the heat, Worcester Crown Court was told.
And he smacked their bottoms after rubbing cream into his hand to heighten the effect, said Richard Atkins, prosecuting.
The 47-year-old and his 30-year-old girlfriend of Credenhill, Hereford, pleaded guilty to child cruelty charges. The step-father was jailed for three-and-a-half years and the mother-of-six was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Judge Toby Hooper said the couple had caused damaging and lasting harm to the victims.
The offences happened between January 2007 and December 2008. The children were sent to school hungry, smelling of urine and with infestations of head lice, said Mr Atkins.
Their clothes were grubby and they had not been taught to use toothbrushes.
They used appalling language and had no repect for adults.
The couple, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, were arrested in June 2009. The woman, who had four of the children by a different partner, said her co-defendant was a monster when he drank.
She claimed he hit her when drunk. Last year he was jailed for headbutting one child after the boy threw a Hereford United shirt at him.
Fiona Elder, for the chef, said although he administered unlawful chastisement he had not caused any serious injuries.
He was inadequate as a father and used alcohol as a coping mechanism.
Kerry Barker, for the mother, said she needed psychological help to overcome problems caused by her early life.
She had grown up witnessing domestic violence and had shown a dependency on partners who were violent towards her.