Four British boys died in a fire surrounded by “trash and human waste” after their mother allegedly left them home alone to shop at a Sainsbury’s store, jurors heard.

According to BBC, the children’s mother, Deveca Rose, 29, denies charges of manslaughter and child cruelty involving her two sets of twins, identified as Leyton and Logan Hoath, both three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, both four.

The fire at their London home was allegedly sparked by a discarded cigarette or an overturned tea light. The boys reportedly ran upstairs, crying for help, but were trapped in the locked house and died under a bed, according to what prosecutors told jurors at the Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court).

Sky News reports that Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC alleged during opening statements that Rose left the children alone to go to the supermarket on the evening of December 16, 2021.

“She either dropped a lit cigarette before she left or left tea lights burning, or both. A fire started on or under the sofa, and due to the amount of rubbish in the house it took hold quickly,” Lumsdon said.

“The children were, we suggest, locked in the house and could not escape. They ran upstairs to get away from the fire and shouted to the neighbours. But it was too late for anything to be done.”

“There was rubbish thickly spread throughout the house. The toilet and the bath were full of rubbish and could not be used. Buckets and pots were used as toilets instead.”

Lumsdon stated that while evidence suggested Rose may have been depressed and suffering from a personality disorder, this did not excuse her actions.

The prosecution explained that Rose, a single mother who had separated from the boys’ father, Dalton Hoath, kept the children looking healthy and presentable well, but allowed them to live in “very poor conditions” while rejecting offers of help.

Social services had monitored the children after their paternal family voiced concerns, but jurors heard that authorities closed the case three months before their deaths.