emma tustin and thomas hughes : Most liked Posts

bluecups said:

It wouldn't have been so bad if the Hughes family had released a formal, well worded statement clarifying speculation around the funeral disputes. Angry outbursts on Facebook just seem inappropriate and crass.

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Mrs_honestyx4 said:

So
I have followed the case the whole time. I absolutely adore Arthur, the fact he died thinking no one loves him... Is most likely the worse thing I've ever come across.

I do feel very sorry for his mother... I know addiction is awful. But I still feel so angry.. she said her child lit up her life... It should have been ENOUGH to turn her life around. She had it in her to do it, he was a happy boy with his mum. Though, I suspect towards the end before she killed her partner.... Her drinking got worse and it may have gone down hill... I feel so cross with her that he wasn't enough. When strangers see how beautiful and amazing he is yet we don't know him. What stands out to me a little... She doesn't blame herself, whether it's justifying or not... If it was me, I'd blame myself and my choices EVERYDAY.

The only hope I hang on to is that it was not a prolonged torture and abuse and it was the only final weeks it got worse. I don't think I could hack it if it was a long campaign. I hope he did receive some sort of love... But I think deep down, I know the truth.

Nothing will change. Beautiful Arthur will not be the first nor the last. We MUST end this culture of turning a blind eye. If something makes US feel uncomfortable, then think how does it make the child feel? We can be the voices for them. Who gives a crap if we're interfering?

I'm fed up of broken society, I'm fed up of it being acceptable to film your child and laugh AT them, broadcasting them, getting likes just to be laughed AT. No, this is your child, not a way to get attention and likes. I'm fed up of people claiming benefits just for them to spend it on tattoos, new phones, new hair. That is NOT what the benefit system is for. I have been a single mum and on benefits for 3 years before I met my husband. Every penny went on my kids, clubs, days out, decent food. These people needs lessons about what the benefits are for.... Why is everyone so obsessed with materialistic things? What on earth is happening with society now?

Arthur, you are LOVED. Those two disgusting human beings are no reflection on you. Thousands of people LOVE you. I hope you are getting all the sweets and ice cream wherever you are. Always in my thoughts xx

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Irksome said:

I'm not that critical of the hairdresser. Chances are that if she'd contacted social services nothing would have been done. We know this because we know other people reported them to social services and nothing was done.

I'd like to think there would have been something I could have done if I was in her situation, something to look after Arthur and protect him, but realistically what can you do?

You can try and have a word to ET & TH, but they wouldn't have listened, and by making them angry you'd risk making things worse. You can call social services, but would they have acted? You could refuse to let Arthur go home with them and be arrested for child abduction.

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willowxxxx said:

But he went to the hairdressers that day. She and her partner saw him in agony. Too weak to lift a glass of water up. And then abused by them two monsters and did nothing !!!!!!!! They should be held accountable for that. They should have phoned the police there and then. Might make people think twice about turning a blind eye to abused children if they think criminal charges could be made against them.

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Caitlin44 said:

I usually only come on tattle for my celeb gossip but after seeing todays DM I’ve literally broke down in the gym crying and felt I needed somewhere to go

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Adcs813 said:

Too long to screenshot but:


Hi folks! Firstly I'd like to thank the admins for letting me into the group.

Secondly I'd like to express our sincere condolences to the Hughes family for the loss of little Arthur and the difficult circumstances they must be going through.

And finally I'd like to say a little about our daughter Affy, 'The Hairdresser'. While you might think it's obligatory for me to defend her I can only say that if she wasn't such a sweet, kind, lovely person I would just stay silent and say nothing. We already have the best relationship a father and daughter could have so I have nothing to gain from doing this.

Affy has been somewhat vilified online. While we can understand public anger I feel it necessary to point out that she is not the criminal on trial here.

A few years ago she got assaulted by a man who left her with a cracked skull, black eye, and other injuries. The case went to court and his solicitor did a great job in twisting events by demolishing her on the witness stand. The guy walked away free. She was left not only injured but traumatised by the experience. So for her to not want to get involved, while to you may have been unforgivable, to me it was understandable because we lived with her through it. I'm not making excuses, just reminding those reading this that at every moment we are the leading edge of our experiences...and every action or non action is shaped by those events.

So when after much soul searching she announced that she was going to help the prosecution despite being made aware of the effect it could have on her life, we were totally surprised. It was so very brave of her!

Unfortunately the press in court only gave the juciest items out for public consumption so you've all been left to, somewhat inevitably, fill in the gaps and make assumptions about people's actions and conduct, many of which are incorrect. Eventually those will be spoken of.

But in the meantime, Affy is a wonderful mother to our 2 beautiful grandchildren who both adore her. Go easy on her, and others like her. Don't put future witnesses off taking the stand in other cases. The police have told us to inform them of anyone who maliciously attacks her as she was a key witness, promising action. We hope never to have to do that.

Thank you.

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AppleBeeY said:

I’ve been following this story everywhere I can because, unfortunately, my early years were very similar to Arthur.

Being locked in wardrobes, starved, hair cut off, beaten was the norm for me and my siblings. It didn’t stop until we got to secondary school age — then it become purely psychological instead.

For anyone who is baffled by the lack of intervention, I want to explain how people like Tustin, Hughes and my mother get away with it.

Firstly, they rule their children with an iron fist. When you beat a child for the first time, they react with extreme betrayal and avoidance. The more a child is hit, the more they start to believe it is “normal” to live like that. Once beatings start happening unpredictably, and not in response to bad behaviour, it is game over.

The child is conditioned to accept pain, and will actively protect the parent’s reputation because (a) pain is normal and (b) if it’s like this at home, how much worse could it be outside?

Secondly, people like Tustin and Hughes enforce social isolation like their lives depend on it. They do not swan around the world. They don’t invite people over to the house, or socialise willy-nilly. They barely have friends!

Abuse takes a lot of ongoing effort, and making sure there is a culture of silence and isolation in the home is one of the biggest undertakings.

The few people they do “approve” of are also quite similar to them. In my mother’s case, all her friends were OK with physical discipline so the excuse-making was there from the get go. If they called her a monster, they’d have to admit they were part monster themselves first. And when do people ever do that?


Thirdly and most importantly — most people are terrified of them. They are just as abusive and volatile to adults as they are to their own children.

Not many people have faith in the RSPCC. And when they do, they don’t have faith in themselves because so much of the abuse is secretive and explained away by accidents. Think about it.

How many articles have you read about exemplary social workers vs articles about a social worker who missed a fatal clue?

When was the last time you thought: “I trust the foster system in the UK“?


My teachers advocated for me by letting me sign my own letters, instead of sending them by post, because they didn’t want to be the reason I never came back.

And my grandparents were behind some of the happiest days of our childhood. McDonald’s twice in a day, sleeping at 1am, pillow forts in the living room with the cousins, sweets until we threw up.


They COULD have reported it but it would have resulted in being banned from seeing us or withdrawn from school, followed by a bone-shattering beating for us anyway. So they gave us little bits of happiness and safety instead, hoping we’d be reunited properly as adults (we were).

I 100% believe in reporting child abuse on sight, but the sad truth is that things often get worse before they get better, if ever.

Even in Arthur’s case, a report was made but his life was still cruelly taken because parents are given endless chances.

Where I live now, if my neighbour hit my child, they would go to jail. If they hit their own, nothing would happen.

No one wants to go against them, not even the system.

And that’s how you end up with stories like Arthur, Baby P and so many more.

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Mrs_honestyx4 said:

Yes ss were known of Arthur for 3 years. Such a shame

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