A TEENAGE girl being sexually abused and an eight-year-old boy left home alone are among cases of child abuse discovered by an RSPCA inspector.

Lynsey Harris was investigating animal welfare in Barnsley at the time of the grim discoveries, and has spoken to the Chronicle about how the animal charity supports the work of the NSPCC as part of the Neglect Matters campaign being run in by the children’s charity and Barnsley Council.

Part of the work involves encouraging people to report the signs of neglect, from members of the public, to dentists, to tradespeople like electricians, plumbers and gas engineers who visit homes social workers might never see.

The NSPCC and RSPCA are already successfully working together to tackle child abuse and neglect, as demonstrated by two examples from the Barnsley area which Lynsey dealt with personally.

The first occurred when she was sent in to investigate why a dog was underweight. The Barnsley family had another young married couple living with them at the time.

“We used to get lots of calls about this dog,” said Lynsey, the RSPCA’s chief inspector for South Yorkshire.

“Social services had some concerns but they couldn’t get the mother of the teenage girl in the home to open up.”

Lynsey was able to build up a rapport with the mother over several visits, and she eventually opened up to her revealing her daughter was being sexually abused by the man staying with them.

“As a result the girl was made safe,” she said. “People talk about job satisfaction, but that was total job satisfaction that day.”

On another occasion in Barnsley, Lynsey responded to a report that a dog was being severely neglected and was being left unattended for long periods.

“We put things in place at the property to establish whether anyone was coming and going,” she said.

“We went back after 24 hours, then 48, then 72. We could see nobody had left or entered the property for at least the 72 hours we knew about.

“I could see the dog through the letterbox. So on day three we got the police to come and break the door down, and we found a child inside. He was about eight, and he had been left by his mother to fend for himself.

“The house was full of litter and he was hiding in there among it all. He’d been there at least the 72 hours we knew about, she’d left him some food, and told him to hide and stay quiet if anyone came to the door.”

Lynsey said the partnership and the training provided to RSPCA inspectors was ‘vital’.

“There has been research on animal abuse, child abuse, and the correlation between the two. I’ve been in the RSPCA for 18 years now, and the link is definitely there in my experience.

“A lot of people live in a certain way, in chaotic and unsanitary conditions, and that can become the norm.

“You can become desensitised to it, but we’re trained to look beyond that, and to spot the signs.”

Sandra Robinson, a team manager of the NSPCC helpline, said the partnership with the RSPCA had proved very successful.

“The RSPCA has worked with the NSPCC for a very long time but since 2013 that partnership has been formalised, and we have a dedicated line now for RSPCA inspectors.

“They can see things in homes which other professionals might otherwise never have seen.

“We’ve had 250 to 300 referrals from the RSPCA, many have involved families who were not previously known to children’s services.”

ANyone with concerns about a child’s welfare shoudl call the NSPCC helpline on 0800 800 5000 or visit the NSPCC’s website here.