A mother has told a High Court judge she "would probably have rejected" a five-year-old boy for adoption if she had known how difficult he was.

The woman and her husband are suing Essex County Council for the emotional and financial damage caused to their family and home by the child, who is now 12 and back in council care.

The couple, who cannot be named, claim the council was negligent in failing to disclose reports indicating that the boy was so disturbed that he would require constant supervision.

The mother told Mr Justice Buckley that if she had known the boy had been assessed psychiatrically it "would have set the alarm bells ringing".

Respite care

She said: "We didn't know the extent of what had been going on.

"Reports of needing respite care and things like that would have shown a true indication of what the situation was."

We were a brand new family and you expect to have some teething problems

Adoptive mother

The boy was diagnosed as suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and has been under medication in special needs care since 1999.

Edwards Faulks QC, for the council, said the boy had lived with the couple for a 14-month placement prior to the adoption in 1996.

He suggested the placement gave the couple "quite a long period of time to see how he was settling in".

The mother replied: "But he wasn't aggressive and violent 24 hours a day.

"We would have a spate of violence and aggression and then he would settle down.

"We would think he was settling in but then it would all start again."

'Teething problems'

She said her adopted son could be "a lovely little boy" for two-week periods.

Asked by Mr Faulks why the couple had not asked for social services support during the placement, she said: "We were a brand new family and you expect to have some teething problems."

The couple are seeking damages for personal injuries; depression caused by the adoption; loss of earnings resulting from his needing constant supervision and the cost of the damage to their home caused by the boy.

The council denies negligence, and says the breakdown of the adoption could not have been foreseen.

Children's needs

Later the court heard from Dr Karen Lehner, a medical adviser to the West Essex Adoption Panel, who assessed the boy and his sister before they were placed with the couple.

She told the judge she "felt very strongly then and do now that adoptive parents should have all the information they can".

Asked by Mr Faulks if she might have failed to discuss the children's needs with the couple, she replied: "It's very unlikely."

The case was adjourned until Tuesday.