US mother abandoned her five children to go on a beach holiday

A Texas woman has been arrested and accused of abandoning her five children under the age of 13, leaving them home alone for several days while she went on a beach holiday.

Chrystal Walraven, 28, allegedly flew from her Round Rock home to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where she stayed with a male friend for several days while her children were left at home unsupervised.

When she left the children on August 25, 2018, she reportedly said she "needed to get away with everything that was happening at home."

Staff at the local Gattis Elementary School, which some of the children attended, began to suspect something was wrong when the older kids mentioned staying up late to change their younger sibling's diaper.

The school principal contacted police, who immediately went to the family's home on August 29 last year, where they discovered the children living in filth.

The elder children, two boys aged 12 and 10, appeared to have been left in charge, the 10-year-old answering the door to police and claiming everything was okay.

However upon entering the home, police officers discovered dirty nappies, stained carpet and a kitchen infested with flies, while two of Walraven's daughters, aged six and three, looked like they hadn't washed in days.

Most concerning was the condition of Walraven's youngest daughter, 15 months, who was discovered under a blanket in her crib and looked to be dead. Police only realised she was alive when they removed the blanket and rubbed her, at which point she began to move and breathe.

Police contacted the father of one of the children, who claimed that a neighbour was looking after them, however when questioned by police the neighbour revealed she "never knew exactly what was going on with the children."

She had cooked them dinner the night before the children were discovered, but told police that the father of a second child was actually responsible for checking in on them while Walraven was away.

The second father also told police he was not responsible for looking after all the children, but had brought them food around lunchtime each day.

But Walraven claims this was not the case, telling KXAN: "He was supposed to be over here with the kids."

"[The neighbour] was here during the day, she actually had to give them the car seats because she had been taking the kids back and forth to school, like everything.

"I definitely didn't abandon them. They [father and neighbour] were supposed to be here with the children and did not do that."

Neighbours told Fox 7 that it was normal to see the children playing well after midnight, so hadn't suspected anything was amiss.

Walraven claims to have been in Myrtle Beach for four days looking into a job opportunity, but had also visited several local tourist attractions.

She told police she had intended to return home on August 28 but had been delayed and didn't return until August 30, the day after police found the children.

She also added that she stayed in contact with her children via Facebook Messenger.

After finding the children police contacted Child Protective Services, who put the children into foster care until the father of one of the children took the brood in.

Walraven has since been charged with two counts of abandoning or endangering a child, a second-degree felony that could see her face up to 20 years in prison.