The pictures we publish today of conditions inside homes where Norfolk County Council has paid a company to house teenagers leaving its care are shocking.

Nobody should live in such homes and yet this is the state vulnerable young people who need help have lived.

Both the council and the private company providing the accommodation, Sixteen Plus, suggest the poor conditions are down to the teenagers living there.

But the photos show the poor conditions go beyond a bit of rubbish.

These are young people leaving the care of the council for the first time – they are meant to be receiving strong support.

If the homes have been allowed to get into such a state, that would suggest they are not getting sufficient help.

These are young people who have been taken into care and statistically have fewer life chances than other 16 to 18 year olds.

They should be given more help than anyone else to prepare them for adult life and the wider world beyond care.

One advert we found for a Sixteen Plus support worker says the job involves helping the young people clean and cook and plan for their futures.

These photos suggest that is not happening.

If we expect to be able to care for the most vulnerable young people in this way, we will be storing up serious problems for the future.