The mum of adult twins responsible for more than 100 crimes claims neither of her sons is getting the help they need to turn their lives around.
Julie Morris says her 34-year-old sons Corrie and Adam Reynolds "both know they need support" and ask her when they are going to get help.
Adam is currently serving a 14-month prison term for a burglary in a house in October 2021. He has 62 convictions for 148 offences.
His twin Corrie has just been released from prison.
54-year-old mum Julie says her sons turned to crime after experiencing childhood trauma including finding her boyfriend dying and the death of a family friend who took their own life.
She says they "fell in with a bad crowd".
The twins have had brushes with the law since they were 13-year-old. However, Julie says that they have never really had support to deal with what has been described in their court cases as "mental health needs."
Speaking to StokeOnTrent Live, Julie described the struggles that her sons face: "Adam has never had anywhere to call home and Corrie has always been ‘sofa surfing’ with family.
"Social services and mental health services have completely let them down. Nothing has changed because they are still ill and mentally disturbed."
In 2019, Adam was jailed after he was found high on monkey dust in a home in Hartshill that he had burgled. He had treated himself to some food, had a bath and a sleep in one of the beds after he had broken in and was found by a relative of the homeowners.
This month, he was back in court for entering a house via an unlocked porch in the middle of the night. When police caught up with him, he tried to pin the crime on Corrie.
Julie admitted: "I feel terrible. I know what Adam did was terrible, but when he came out of jail he had nowhere to live and was homeless. Like his twin, without medication, he gets in trouble with the law.
"They need supportive care. They need counselling to talk about what they can do about their behaviour, and how to handle their anger problems."
The mum says she is in touch with her sons daily, but won’t be visiting Adam in prison because of her own health. But she has been making attempts to get them access to better mental health treatment.
She explained: "There’s no funding to help them, so where do they go? They end up taking drugs because they think it’s going to help them. Corrie says it helps him with his mental health but I tell him it doesn’t.
"They ask, ‘when are we going to get help, mum?’ They both know they need support and are not getting it."
Julie went on to say that she believed her sons didn't know what they were doing when they committed their crimes and is "heartbroken" at what she describes as the "neglect" of their problems by social services and mental health services.
The mum-of-five added: "Corrie won’t be able to live with me because he is not well enough. They are either going to die, get killed, or be in prison for the rest of their lives because they are not getting any support for their mental health problems.
"I brought my babies up to be good - not to steal or take drugs. I’ve done training in mental health so I can help my sons, but Harplands Hospital (a mental health facility) has failed them."
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust has advised Julie to contact its Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). A spokesperson said: “We are very sorry if Julie feels that the care provided by the trust has fallen short of what she would like.
"Whilst it would be inappropriate to discuss details of individual cases publicly, we would encourage her to make contact via our Patient Advice and Liaison Service – PALS – should there be further concerns she wishes to raise."
Julie has approached Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Jo Gideon for support regarding Corrie. A spokesman for Ms Gideon said: "We are aware of this case and have been working with the mother to find a solution for her son."
