A one man infestation

Britain's most feckless father is today expected to see the birth of his 16th child by 14 different women, with another one on the way in a matter of weeks.

Unemployed Jamie Cumming and his new girlfriend were expecting the baby to arrive on Friday, but the teenage mother-to-be was sent home from hospital the following day after doctors found she was having a ‘slow labour’.

Cumming, 34, from Dundee, has already fathered 15 children with 13 different mothers, and is expecting a further child with another woman in January.

His current lover is 19-year-old Chelsea, while another 19-year-old gave birth to Cumming’s 15th baby two weeks ago, and a third teen is expected to give birth to his 17th in the new year.

The serial dad from Dundee is unable to financially support his many children and most of the mothers are also on benefits.

Cumming’s mother Lorraine, who doesn’t speak to her son, said she was ashamed of him and he should do more to support his children.

She said: ‘He’s been unemployed for years and shows no sign of wanting to work.
‘We don’t speak to each other, and, even though I love him as my child, I am bitterly disappointed with how he lives his life.

‘It’s difficult to keep up with it all, but I do my best to see all the kids. He just doesn’t seem bothered, even though he thinks he’s “Father of the Year” because he lives with three of them. We’re expecting Chelsea to have the baby over the next 24 hours or so.’

Mrs Cumming was also scathing on her son’s liberal choice of partners. She added: ‘It’s sad he doesn’t see his eldest, Samantha, who I have looked after since she was born. The girls he is running around with just now are not much older than her – he just loves teenagers.

‘I would say he is a sexual predator.’ Cumming was just 17 when Samantha was born in 1995, but once the baby arrived he moved his affections to new mum Kelly Dulley’s cousin.

The baby was left with Cumming’s parents to raise as their own, and Samantha, now 16, has seen her own mother only twice since. Between 1997 and 2002, Cumming then fathered another five children with five different mothers.

In 2004, he sired two girls and a boy who were all born within months of each other, and between December 2007 and August 2008 the former barman fathered three more offspring.

The only woman Cumming has had more than one child with is on-off girlfriend Alison – they have three children together. She gave birth to his 14th child in July last year, and he became a father for the 15th time two weeks ago when a teenager he had a brief fling with gave birth to a baby boy.

Bed bug warning as Britons stop washing their bed sheets

One in eight people sleep in bedding that has not been washed for over a month, according to a new study.

Time and cash-strapped Brits are cutting back on washing their bedding - putting them at a high risk of a bed bug infestation, reveals the annual survey.

And men came out worst with 1.7 million waiting more than a month before washing their bed sheets.

The annual Bed Bug Audit, conducted by Sheilas' Wheels home insurance, found that 29 per cent of Brits have cut back on washing their bedding due to lack of time while 17 per cent delay washing their dirty laundry to cut costs.

More than one in eight Brits (13 per cent) sleep in bedding that has not been washed for over a month, while a quarter (27 per cent) sleep on mattresses that are more than 10-years-old.

With forecasters predicting erratic temperatures this winter which could reach -15C by Christmas, bedrooms could become the perfect breeding ground for bed bugs, which take refuge in the warmth of mattresses, pillows and sheets to feed.

Almost one-in-five people polled said they were more likely now than last year to buy second-hand furniture, which is a leading source of infestation as a pre-owned mattress alone can contain up to 10 million bed bugs.

The Bed Bug Audit also revealed that 26 per cent of Brits polled had no idea how bed bugs spread and a quarter (25 per cent) said they were unaware of any measures to counter them, such as leaving sheets exposed during the day or regularly vacuuming all areas of the room - including the seams of the mattress.

Sheilas' Wheels home insurance spokeswoman Jacky Brown said: 'We spend so much time in our beds that it is astounding so many Brits and particularly bug busting men - do not keep them clean.

'Simple measures like avoiding eating in bed, leaving the sheets exposed during the day and washing them regularly can help avoid an infestation.

'Bed bugs in the home can be an extremely unpleasant experience so it is important that homeowners have a way to deal quickly with an infestation such as our pest cover otherwise the upcoming cold spell could provide a nasty wake-up call