The Italian government has clashed with its own judiciary over a decision to seize three young children from their British father and Australian mother after they were all poisoned by mushrooms.
The family, who gave up the rat race to live a simple life in a woodland cottage found themselves at the heart of a national scandal last week.
On Thursday, police and social workers swept into the rural property and removed three youngsters from devastated parents Nathan Trevallion, 51, a former Bristol chef, and his wife, Catherine Birmingham, once an equestrian trainer in Melbourne.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stepped into the row almost immediately, admitting she was ‘concerned’ about the treatment of the family after the children were displaced into state care.
Despite being ‘allowed’ to accompany her children to a sheltered centre in Vasto – a small town in central Abruzzo – Ms Birmingham says she has heartbreakingly been kept away from them for most of the time.
A court in the regional capital of L’Aquila justified the move by claiming the couple’s children – Utopia Rose, eight, and twins Galorian and Bluebell, six – were not being properly educated and were growing up in ‘social isolation’.
The judge also objected to the fact the youngsters used an outdoor toilet rather than a fully plumbed bathroom.
The decision has left the nation stunned. The family home, a small two-room cottage deep in a privately owned five-acre woodland, does not have running water or mains electricity.
On Thursday, police and social workers swept into the rural property and removed three youngsters from devastated parents Nathan Trevallion, 51, a former Bristol chef, and his wife, Catherine Birmingham, once an equestrian trainer in Melbourne
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stepped into the row almost immediately, admitting she was ‘concerned’ about the treatment of the family after the children were displaced into state care
The family relied on solar power for electricity and a well for water because their home is located six miles from the nearest small village.
This is something their supporters say is part of a conscious choice to live sustainably.
The children were also homeschooled and authorities said they had inadequate access to healthcare.
The couple bought the land in 2021 for around £17,500, dreaming of raising their children surrounded by trees and wildlife.
But authorities were called to the homestead in September 2024 after all five members of the family needed to be taken to hospital because they had been poisoned by mushrooms.
The case has exploded into front-page headlines and blanket coverage on Italian TV – sparking a ferocious power struggle between ministers and the country’s judiciary.
Deputy PM Matteo Salvini thundered that the ‘seizure’ of the children was ‘worrying, dangerous and shameful’ and rallied against a system he claims is failing.
He then vowed to travel to Abruzzo to meet with the family.
But magistrates have fired back, accusing politicians of attempting to score points off a fragile family in crisis.
Even Italy’s own justice minister, Carlo Nordio, appears to have broken ranks, warning that taking children from parents is ‘an extremely painful decision’ requiring great care – and hinting that independent inspectors may be called in to investigae.
He added: ‘For decades, we have been bombarded by prophets who say we should quit consumerism and return to nature.
‘These people have done that, and we need to assess whether it is compromising the children’s education. I believe the parents are fully aware of their responsibilities.’
But the judiciary’s top brass insist judges acted correctly.
Rocco Maruotti, secretary general of the national associate of magistrates, said the court had listed its reason for removing the children in thorough detail.
‘You need to read it first, before your blindly criticise it,’ he said.
Meanwhile, as the political storm intensifies, the father at the centre of the row admits it’s been ‘amazing’ to see how many ordinary Italians are rallying to their cause.
‘Everybody is talking about it. I’m getting stopped in the streets by people I have never met in my life who say they are with us, they respect what we are doing. It’s amazing. Now that politicians in Rome are getting involved, hopefully things will get moving,’ Mr Trevallion told The Telegraph.
The family’s lawyer, Giovanni Angelucci, is now lodging an urgent appeal in the hope of reuniting the family by Christmas.
And the public is making its feelings crystal clear. More than 120,000 people have already signed a viral online petition titled ‘Salviamo la famiglia che vive nel bosco’ – ‘Let’s save the family that lives in the woods’.
Local prosecutors have asked a local court to remove the Briton’s children from his care
One supporter summed up the growing fury: ‘You can see the happiness and positivity in their eyes. It’s not important that the kids don’t have a TV or a PlayStation; they are living happily. Leave them alone!’
Earlier this month, Ms Birmingham claimed police had ‘bullied and harassed’ her and her family.
She claimed they had to flee the property three times after police showed up theatening to take their children away.
She told the Telegraph: ‘They saw we were living off grid and they labelled our house a crumbling ruin. The kids were really traumatised.’
The family’s lawyer, Angelucci, had insisted the children were in ‘perfect health’.
‘They are in better physical condition than most children,’ he said, adding: ‘There is no evidence of maltreatment.’
In an effort to prove their claims, Trevallion invited a local media outlet to the family’s cottage to reveal how they lived.
He reportedly said in broken Italian: ‘There are cracks in the walls, but the walls are strong.
‘We are a clean family. Every day we sweep the floor’.
In a statement to the court, Trevallion and Birmingham said: ‘We consciously changed our own lives… to provide our children with parents that are able to be at home with them, food, air and water that is clean, and an environment that not only is beneficial to their brain and physical development but, most importantly, a connection.’
