A council worker has told an inquest she tried to stop a gang terrorising a mum who later killed herself and her disabled daughter.

Fiona Pilkington, 38, and her children Francecca and Anthony Hardwick, were attacked verbally and physically by the gang outside their home in Barwell, Leicestershire.

Ms Pilkington became so despairing at the response from the council and police that she took her 18-year-old daughter, known as Frankie, to a secluded lay-by on the A47 and set light to their car.

Ron Grantham, community safety manager at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, spoke of his frustration at not being able to help Ms Pilkington.

He said that, despite the council seeking an injunction against one family, the culprits are still causing problems in the area.

Mr Grantham said: "It comes down to parental control. With the best will in the world, and we have done an awful lot of work, if you cannot get a level of parental control, the problems will escalate."

He added: "I dread to think what will happen to these children, criminality wise. If they don't stop they are going to end up in prison. It is a wicked cycle unless intervention is put in to place to stop it. That's my honest opinion."

The inquest has heard that Ms Pilkington, her daughter and son Anthony, now 19, suffered years of abuse. The 16-strong gang would pelt their house with flour, eggs and stones while Anthony was attacked with an iron bar and locked in a shed at knifepoint.