In the years prior to the scandal, levels of reported child abuse in the Cleveland area were consistent with those of other parts of the United Kingdom. However, in 1987, during the period of February to July, many children living in Cleveland were removed from their homes by social service agencies and diagnosed as sexually abused. The 121 diagnoses were made by two paediatricians at a Middlesbrough hospital, Marietta Higgs and Geoffrey Wyatt, using the later-discredited diagnostic of reflex anal dilation. When there were not enough foster homes in which to place the allegedly abused children, social services began to house the children in a ward at the local hospital.
