Boy, 7, chained up by his parents for five months to keep him away from 'bad company'

A seven-year-old child was kept chained by his parents in their home in an alleged bid to keep him away from “bad company.”

Social services and police released the child after a tip-off from neighbours who saw him tied to a long steel chain in the family home in the town of Goce Delchev in Bulgaria.

The chain, attached to his leg, only allowed him to move though a limited space in the house and caused chronic injuries.

Ilko Todorov was taken to a foster home after receiving medical treatment, while his parents Ilija, 40, a metal worker and Marija, 34, a cleaner, face legal charges.

Speaking from the foster home, where he has been put under intensive psychological counselling, Ilko said: “I am happy here and I get to play with other children now. I miss my mum but I don’t want to see my dad.”

His mother  told authorities she could not stop the ordeal her son was subjected to because of his domineering father.

She said: “I tried to tell him not to do it, but I was afraid of him.” 

It was not immediately clear for how long had the child been chained, but it is believed that he was forced to sleep and live with the chain for a considerable period of time.

Authorities are investigating whether the child missed school and why  social services were not alerted earlier.

Ilko's mother Maria Todorova

Ilko's familiy home

Ilko's father said he chained his son in a bid to keep him away from “bad company.” 

Authorities in Bulgaria, which joined the European Union in 2007, are probing the case but no charges have yet been laid.