Councils sued over abuse in West Sussex

Former residents of a West Sussex children’s home began a High
Court bid for compensation last week for abuse they say they
suffered during the 1960s and 1970s.

They are suing the London Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea, and
Southwark, who placed them at the Barlavington Manor Home in
Petworth.

Their counsel told Mr Justice Newman that social services records
from the time documented “complaints and anxieties” about the home,
which any local authority showing “competent care” should have
investigated.

Counsel described home owners, John and Angela Ellis, who are now
dead, as “unfit to care for children in public care”.

The case continues.