AN ARSENAL of deadly weapons was seized by the police from a Bradford home where three children were living, a court heard.

When officers raided the family's detached house, they found unsecured pistols, shotguns and rifles, with live ammunition, along with hunting knives, a crossbow and a stash of illegal drugs.

The house windows were covered over and the inside was dirty and cluttered, prosecutor Caroline Wigin told Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

The youngsters, aged 13 and under, were not attending school after their father had become a recluse.

The children's mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to three offences of child cruelty over a seven year period.

She was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with supervision.

Miss Wigin said the woman, in her 40s, had now moved with the children to another part of the country.

Weapons recovered from the family home in Bradford included a Magnum handgun, a revolver, a shotgun and an air rifle. There was also live ammunition, 434 ecstasy tablets and a haul of cannabis.

There were hunting knives in the hall and kitchen, lock knives and a crossbow.

"This was a house not fit for habitation," Miss Wigin said.

"It was dirty and cluttered and hunting knives were hanging from wardrobes and drugs were available to the children."

The mental health of the woman's former husband had deteriorated and he became unpredictable, the court heard.

The police recovered a photograph of a game called "Goldilocks and the Wolf" that he played with his daughter - he wore a wolf mask and she carried a handgun.

Miss Wigin said the woman had failed to protect her children from the hazards in the house.

The mother told the police she thought all the firearms were all decommissioned.

Her barrister, Rukhshanda Hussain, said she was herself a victim of her husband's behaviour.

She had done the best she could to protect her children and the youngsters were now thriving in her care.

"They are incredibly well balanced, stable and happy. They have excelled at school and they are in excellent physical and mental health," Miss Hussain said.

The Social Services and NSPCC were satisfied they were flourishing in their new environment, the court heard.

Judge Neil Davey QC told the woman: "You have pleaded guilty to three offences of child cruelty by allowing your three children to remain in the gravest danger of serious injury or even death."

The woman's former husband was "a one man arsenal of weaponry" and a substantial amount of drugs had been left insecure in the family home.

Judge Davey said the mother would have gone to prison if the case had been dealt with sooner or she had denied the offences.