The great-grandfather of murdered toddler Star Hobson has said she and her mother Frankie Smith were failed by social services. Smith, 20, was jailed last year for her role in the death of her 16-month-old daughter, who was killed by Smith’s former partner Savannah Brockhill.
On Thursday a review into Star’s death found that children’s social care services in Bradford had been “in turmoil” at the time, with a high turnover of social workers and a high volume of work affecting quality and contributing to assessments that were “too superficial” and did not address repeated concerns from family members.
Star’s great-grandfather, David Fawcett, 62, spoke of his anger at learning social workers’ investigation into Star’s case was closed a week before she died. He said: “Reading between the lines, they didn’t have the manpower, which is why they had to close the case – it’s pretty damning.
