Raymond
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Well I never...A couple have had all seven of their children taken away from them, including a newborn baby, over fears some of the kids are too fat.
Social workers took the day-old baby girl from her mother's arms in hospital this week, because they were worried she could be at risk of becoming obese.
Some of the children are seriously overweight. A 14-year-old boy is 16st, a 13-year-old girl is 12st and a five-year-old girl is 4st.
Three other children, boys aged 11 and three and a girl aged nine are not overweight.
Social workers say they are acting in the children's best interests.
The couple, from Dundee, were warned to tackle the children's weight problems through diet and exercise, but failed.
Two of the children were then put in foster homes and a third went along voluntarily to keep an eye on them.
But now a children's panel has decided to take all the children into care.
The 40-year-old mother, who was 23st when she fell pregnant, wept and said "I want my babies."
A friend of the family said: "She's inconsolable that they could do such a thing to her. She doesn't know what to do next.
"The family feels that they have done enough to help their kids and try to keep their weight down. They love their kids so much. It's a mother's worst nightmare."
However, local authorities are reported to have spent more than £100,000 on the family in an effort to sort out the problem.
A city council spokesman said: "We have made it clear time and time again that the children would be removed from the family environment if the problem wasn't tackled. As far as we're concerned this is another form of child abuse. Any decision about a child's situation is given full and careful consideration. It is never taken lightly and always at the forefront is what is the best course of action for the child or children."
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