A children's home unwittingly housed a 22-year-old man posing as a teenage boy who also allegedly smuggled drugs into the property, it was claimed.
The man was reportedly removed by the local authority after "making a disclosure" about his real age.
The incident was one of a number of concerning claims made about Westlea House in Formby, a residential home that provides accommodation and support for up to seven children.
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The ECHO has seen WhatsApp screengrabs that appear to show a member of staff referring to a child as a "little b***h" - although the alleged author adamantly denied writing the message when contacted by a reporter.
The claims emerged when a former member of staff came forward after the ECHO reported on a damning inspection report by regulator Ofsted.
The report, published in November described how children were put at "significant risk" by a raft of management failings.
A follow-up monitoring visit, carried out on December 14, found that improvements had been made and risk management systems and staff training plans had been strengthened.
The whistleblower told the ECHO: "The main issue, which I think is in the public interest, is the fact that there has been a grown man posing as a child.
"It's about safeguarding. It makes you wonder how much this is going on in homes across the country."
The ECHO understands the man was a foreign national and did not have identity documents, meaning the local authority had to make an initial assessment of his age.
An unknown substance, believed to be drugs, was found in his room.
This appears to have been referenced in the Ofsted report, which states: "The adults caring for children lack curiosity relating to risks in children’s lives.
"This has resulted in a child being exposed to unknown substances in the home and there has been no recognition of possible exploitation risk."
The whistleblower also described some staff members expressing "disgust" about the way others referred to children in their care.
When Ofsted inspected the establishment in November, inspectors noted: "Children’s records contain judgemental statements, and they are not accessible to them.
“The manager and the adults caring for children are not always reflective about children’s difficulties, which has created a lack of empathy for some children.
"This adds to children’s feelings of low self-esteem and no self-worth."
The screengrabs of a WhatsApp group chat, seemingly involving employees of Westlea House, appear to relate to a child "being proper stubborn" about attending an appointment.
When the ECHO called the alleged author of the message, they said they could not comment on anything relating to Westlea House but claimed the message was "an absolute lie" and they did not accept writing it.
The ex-employee also expressed concerns about the way children with serious behavioural issues and mental health problems were catered for in the home.
They referred to an incident around summer last year when members of staff went to remove a mobile phone from a child in their mid teens, who had significant behavioural and mental health difficulties.
The whistleblower said: "We all thought Westlea was not the right place for [the child].
"There was a couple of careworkers, but at least one of them had not been trained in dealing with [Multi-Agency Public Protection Agreements] incidents.
"The child got aggressive and someone got kicked in the head, and someone else got punched in the face. A few windows were broken."
However the whistleblower claimed Westlea House encouraged the staff who had been assaulted not to pursue a criminal prosecution.
The former staff member described hearing colleagues being berated "to the point that it was quite uncomfortable", and described the atmosphere as a "toxic workplace".
They said: "While I was there nobody wanted to be there. People were just doing what they could to get through their shifts, and we were always understaffed."
Their concerns were reflected in the November Ofsted report, which stated: "The manager and the adults caring for the children have not received training to meet the children’s needs.
"The manager has made decisions about children moving into the home without her team having the adequate knowledge and skills to provide good care to the child.
"She has not reflected about these decisions to ensure that a child-focused plan is put in place. This has resulted in children receiving care from adults who are not equipped with the appropriate skills and knowledge.
"The rota system in place to ensure that there are enough adults caring for children in the home is poor.
"The hours that individual adults and managers are in the home are not clearly recorded and it is unclear who is providing management direction in the home and first aid.
"This results in children’s day-to-day care being compromised and gaps being present in safeguarding practices."
Westlea House did not reply to a request for comment.
A spokesman for Sefton Council said it could not comment on individual cases when asked about the adult man posing as a child.
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