British father denounces Italian court's removal of off‑grid children

ROME, Nov 21 (Reuters) - A British father denounced on Friday an Italian court decision to remove his three children from the off-grid woodland home where they lived with him and his Australian wife, after the family came under scrutiny when they were poisoned by mushrooms.

A juvenile court in the central city of L'Aquila ruled this week that the couple's alternative lifestyle put the children's wellbeing at risk and ordered that their eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old twin boys be placed in protective care.

Nathan Trevallion's wife, Catherine Birmingham, was allowed to accompany the children to their new accommodation on Thursday, after their lawyer convinced social workers that her presence was needed to limit the trauma of separation.

"It was the worst night of my life," Trevallion told local newspaper Il Centro on Friday. "Taking children away from a parent is the greatest pain there is... It's an injustice."

The couple bought a farmhouse in the mountainous Abruzzo region in 2021 and were raising their children without mains electricity, water or gas, relying instead on solar power, well water and home-grown food. The children are homeschooled and have little or no opportunity to mix with other youngsters.

"The members of the Trevallion family have no social interactions, no steady income, there are no sanitary facilities in the dwelling, and the children do not attend school," the juvenile court said in its written ruling.

Trevallion's situation came to the attention of the police last year, when the whole family was hospitalised after they ate poisonous mushrooms. "Since then, it has been a nightmare," said Trevallion, a chef by training.

PETITION TO REVERSE THE DECISION

The case has sparked intense debate in Italy over alternative lifestyles and more than 13,000 people have signed an online petition backing the family.

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, head of the far-right League party, condemned the court decision.

"It shameful that the state interferes in private education and personal life choices, and steals children from a family who found Italy to be a welcoming country," he told Radio24, adding that he would seek to intervene on behalf of the family.

The conservative Pro Vita & Famiglia group also accused the court of overstepping the mark.

"The State and social services must intervene only in the presence of proven abuse, mistreatment, or neglect, not to punish lifestyles that do not fall within the dominant standard," said group spokesperson Jacopo Coghe. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer Editing by Ros Russell)