California couple arrested after three children found living in plywood box

Video footage shows the squalor in which the family were living.

A Southern California couple has been arrested for child cruelty because authorities say they were living in a filthy desert shack with their three kids and dozens of cats.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department says Daniel Panico, 73, and Mona Kirk, 51, were arrested on Wednesday on a property at Joshua Tree without electricity or running water.

Deputies conducting a check of the Joshua Tree area noticed what they thought was an abandoned caravan and camping site. Officials say mounds of trash and human faeces were nearby.

Captain Trevis Newport says the adults and three children, ages 11, 13 and 14, were living in the confined area with up to 40 cats roaming freely around the property.

The outside of the plywood shack where the family of five were living, without running water or electricity. Photo / San Bernardino County Sheriff

Mounds of trash were found on the property. Photo / San Bernardino County Sheriff

Investigators say the shelter was only about 1.2m high and 3m wide by 6m long. It appeared to be made of plywood scraps and plastic sheeting.

The children did not have enough food and were living in an "unsuitable and unsafe" environment, the Sheriff's Department said. They have since been placed into protective custody.

Maron Kirk and Daniel Panico were booked into the Morongo Basin Jail for willful cruelty to child in lieu of US$100,000 bail.

- AP