Abuse, alcohol and neglect are common factors

Abuse, alcohol and neglect were common threads in the family lives of 112 dead children who had been monitored by the health services.

The report into the deaths of children said in a large number of cases the problems they ultimately fell victim to began very early in their short lives.

Background files show a third of children who died of unnatural causes between 2000 and 2010 suffered from physical or sexual abuse.