Father forced sons to eat soap

A father with a "Victorian" attitude to discipline forced his two young sons to wash their mouths out with soap after they used bad language.

The 29-year-old man - who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of his sons - was ordered by a judge at Cardiff Crown Court to undergo two years of rehabilitation after he admitted six charges of child cruelty.

He also hit the boys with a slipper and a stick during his reign of physical and psychological abuse.

You have no insight into the needs of your children. You have an almost Victorian attitude towards them

Judge Eleri Rees

The court heard that the boys, aged nine and 11, were made to stand in a corner with their hands over their heads when they misbehaved.

After the man was arrested, his elder son told police: "I've been hit all my life by him."

The man from Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, described himself as a strict disciplinarian and told the court he had been abused as a child.

He admitted he had been "heavy-handed" with his children.

But Judge Eleri Rees told him: "You have no insight into the needs of your children.

"You have an almost Victorian attitude towards them. If there is living proof of over discipline you are it.

"One can only hope your children live their lives free from violence."