Brother and sister, 9 and 6, found living off-grid on farm wearing nappies & only able to speak in primitive language
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GHOST CHILDREN
The reclusive family was only discovered when cops arrived at their hillside farm to evacuate them after a flooding alert
- Annabel Bate, Foreign News Reporter
A BROTHER and sister have been discovered by horrified cops living off-grid on a family farm - with no contact with the outside world.
The siblings, aged nine and six, were found still wearing nappies and only able to communicate through their own primitive language.
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The children's parents never registered them with health officials or schools, with local media labelling the two as "ghost children" due to their existence remaining unknown for so many years.
The young kids were said to be "filthy" when astonished cops made the heartbreaking discovery in Lauriano, northern Italy.
Local media reports on Monday say their 54-year-old sculptor dad and 38-year-old mum are both Dutch nationals.
Their dad claimed he was homeschooling the pair, despite neither of them being able to read or write, local media reports.
He told Italian newspaper Corriere Torino: "I love my children, I just wanted to protect them."
The 54-year-old also reportedly said his decision to raise his children in what appears to be complete isolation was motivated by fear of infections like Covid-19.
He also argued that the brother and sister had "a lot of toys, each their own laptop, many musical instruments, and good ski equipment".
He even said they rode horses at a local riding school and visited restaurants and museums.
The children were reportedly born in Germany before being moved over to a town in Turin.
Harrowing images of the ramshackle farm show random broken and abandoned furniture thrown outside and derelict trampolines that had clearly been left to rot.
Rubbish was also captured strewn across the garden.
The reclusive family was only discovered when cops arrived at their hillside farm to evacuate them after a flooding alert.
The Turin Juvenile Court ordered the immediate removal of the children from their parents.
It said in its ruling: "There are facts that suggest that the minors are deprived of adequate assistance from their parents or relatives who are required to provide it."
The children have been taken into state care while arrangements are made for them to be taken into foster care.
During the removal process, concerns were raised about their mum, who is said to have shown little interest in her own kids, NL Times reports.
It's thought she is homeless, the news site added.
Local mayor Mara Baccolla said: "It is a very delicate matter.
"These children can finally find a balance and have access to a life worthy of the name."
She also reportedly spoke of meeting the dad once and described him as being "very reserved" who was unable to speak Italian.
Residents of the town near the farm have shared their shock about the children's existence remaining completely unknown until now.
Despite it being known the farmhouse had changed owners, no one had visited the property in that time.
It currently remains unclear if the parents face further action.
By Rita Sobot and Lydia Doye
COPS have uncovered a "house of horrors" where parents kept three children captive since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
A German couple have been arrested for alleged child abuse after the police raided the house in Spain.
The police found three young boys at the Oviedo home - dubbed the "house of horrors" - who are thought to have lived there for four years since the pandemic began.
The eight-year-old twins and ten-year-old boy were discovered in horrific conditions - each wearing three face masks and forced to wear nappies and sleep in caged beds.
The police said the house was full of rubbish and old medicines as well as filthy pet excrement and a cat with a massive tumour.
The children were reportedly kept out of school and were forbidden to leave the house.
The police found three young boys at the Oviedo home - dubbed the "house of horrors" - who are thought to have lived there for four years since the pandemic began.
The eight-year-old twins and ten-year-old boy were discovered in horrific conditions - each wearing three face masks and forced to wear nappies and sleep in caged beds.
The police said the house was full of rubbish and old medicines as well as filthy pet excrement and a cat with a massive tumour.
The children were reportedly kept out of school and were forbidden to leave the house.
After several days of surveillance cops were clear that more than just the man they saw coming in and out had to live there.
This was indicated by the movements that could be sensed through the few windows that were not closed as well as the boxes of food of the orders that the man brought into the home.
The children were barefoot, wearing nappies and still sleeping in cribs.
When they wanted to take them out of the building they did not even have shoes of their size as they had not bought shoes for years.
The police added that when the children were freed, one of them knelt on the grass and "touched it with amazement".
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