Rising number of vulnerable youngsters are being forced into unsuitable accommodation including Airbnbs, bedsits and caravans

A shocking increase in the number of vulnerable children deprived of their liberty by the state is leaving more youngsters in illegal accommodation, at eye-watering costs to the taxpayer, a government-backed assessment has warned.

The children include a young woman who was physically sat on for an entire day by staff trying to restrain her and a severely disabled child whose feeding tubes had been nibbled by rats. Others have been found in bedsits guarded by security guards, or in Airbnbs and caravans.