'Barbaric' couple 'waterboarded their own children during ten years of captivity and fed them through a hole in the wall' Sebastien Hardenne and Isabelle Simon tortured their son and three daughters Belgian couple face ten years in prison for inflicting inhuman treatment Concerns about children's welfare reported in 2003 but social services did not intervene Father urinated on children, now aged 11 to 16 and beat them with whips By Ian Sparks Extreme abuse: The four children were beaten with iron bars and whips and locked in suitcases (file photo) A barbaric couple who "waterboarded" their four children during ten years of captivity and abuse have gone on trial in Belgium. Parents Sebastien Hardenne and Isabelle Simon also kept their three girls and a boy in a locked room at night and "fed" them through a small hole in the wall, it was heard. They beat them with sticks, an iron bar and whips and tortured them with an electric fly swatter, police have revealed. The father urinated in the children's mouths and even practised "water-boarding" torture similar to that allegedly used at America's Guantanamo Bay prison, the court was told. Two girls were also locked in a suitcase smeared with dog excrement and swung around a room, it was heard. Social services in the town of Biron were alerted by the children's school in 2003 that they were dirty and undernourished, but the warning went unheeded. The youngsters - now aged 11 to around 16 - are being cared for permanently by social services in the town of Namur. Neighbour Anne-Marie Durieux told Belgian media the saw the couple as worse than notorious Belgian child killer Marc Dutroux. She added: 'They are worse than him because they did it to their own children. 'It makes me feel physically ill to realise now the extent of what the children were suffering and that I didn't spot it.' In care: The children are now being looked after in Namur, South Belgium Guantanamo Bay: The accused are said to have practiced 'water-boarding' torture similar to that allegedly used at America's prison, the court was told The couple's lawyer Jacqueline Petit said they "felt sorry" for what they had done and handed the court a letter of apology from the parents to their children. The pair face ten years in prison on charges of "inflicting inhuman treatment" at the trial in Marche-en-Famenne which is due to end on June 12.