Parents jailed after beating child so badly they are permanently disfigured

Darlington police have charged the pair with multiple counts of child neglect

Both are accused of neglecting the child and putting other children living in their home at 'unreasonable risk' (Darlington County Detention Center)

A boy was left "permanently disfigured" after his parents beat him with a variety of objects including electrical cords, police said.

Investigators from the Darlington County Sheriff's Department in the US state of South Carolina said James Charlie Hawkins inflicted "great bodily injury" on the child. They did not say how old he was

By "striking the child with electrical cords and other objects", he was left "permanently disfigured", the force said in a Facebook post.

They have charged him five counts of unlawful neglect of a child and one count of inflicting great bodily injury upon a child.

The boy's mother Ida Gregg, 22, Ida Gregg, has also been charged with five counts of unlawful neglect of a child and one count of allowing a person to inflict great bodily harm upon a child.

Both are accused of neglecting the child and putting other children living in their home at “unreasonable risk” but Lt Robert Kilgo with the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office would not elaborate when asked about the case by local media.

It is not known how many other children were living in the house at the time.

Hawkins is jailed on a $108,000 (£82,000) bond and Gregg is held on a $90,000 (£69,000) bond.