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Shannon Matthews was kidnapped after social workers dropped her from the child protection register because they decided that she was no longer at risk of harm.

Social services became involved with her six years ago because of fears about her welfare. In late 2003, they ruled that no further involvement was necessary.

Shannon was removed from the at-risk register even though social workers knew of reports that the Matthews children were being left alone at night, were not attending school and that there were problems with violence, alcohol and drug abuse in the home.

For at least 20 months before she disappeared in February, Shannon was being secretly doped with at least five different drugs, including sedatives, painkillers and antidepressants.

Her mother, Karen Matthews, and her accomplice, Michael Donovan, were found guilty yesterday of a “dishonest and wicked” plot that led to Shannon, 9, being abducted and held captive for 24 days. Jointly convicted of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice, they were warned by the judge to expect “a substantial custodial sentence”.

Social services, which had compiled a huge file on Matthews and her children before the kidnapping, obtained an emergency court injunction on Wednesday that prevents The Times from disclosing the full details of its involvement with Shannon.

Kirklees council, in West Yorkshire, also ordered staff at every school in the district not to discuss Shannon’s case, which follows this week’s damning report into Haringey social services and the Baby P tragedy.

According to a source close to the family, Shannon’s former head teacher went “absolutely ballistic” during one meeting at which the care authority claimed to have received little information about the girl from the school. She was able to show that social workers had been warned of teachers’ concerns “on a number of occasions”.

A former neighbour, Claire Wilson, 32, said that she used to hear Shannon “crying through the wall” and reported the family to social services on at least three occasions in 2002.

“Imagine living with a neighbour from hell and then double it,” she said. “I once rolled the dirt off Shannon’s feet. The mud was like glue, really stuck on. We had beetles and mice in our home which were coming from their house.

“I think social services should be shot. I used to tell them time and again and all they would say was,

‘We’ll look into it’.”

Toxicology tests would later establish that Shannon was being fed a range of drugs before she was kidnapped. They included temazepam, a hypnotic drug with sleep-inducing effects, two powerful painkillers and an antidepressant.

She was often seen to be drowsy and disorientated and was sometimes sent to bed hungry. Her teachers also raised concerns over low standards of cleanliness and hygiene.

The BBC Panorama programme claimed last night that Shannon was removed from the at-risk register despite a report warning that Matthews would require “constant monitoring and support throughout the lives of her children”.

The report, commissioned by social services, is said to have concluded that Matthews seemed unable “to place the children’s needs above her own”.

Before the kidnapping, Shannon and her three siblings were living at a council house in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, with Mathews, 33, and her boyfriend, Craig Meehan, 22, who was later convicted of possessing child pornography.

Alison O’Sullivan, Kirklees’s director for children and young people, confirmed yesterday that the authority was now “responsible for the protection of the children of Karen Matthews”. She said: “Those children are subject to High Court proceedings where, among other very important issues concerning the children, the actions and plans of this local authority, past, present and proposed, will be scrutinised carefully.”

Silence descended on Court 12 at Leeds Crown Court yesterday as the jury foreman stood to deliver the unanimous guilty verdicts. Matthews and Donovan, 40, showed no emotion. They will be sentenced at a later date.

Shannon was found in March in the base of a divan bed after police forced entry to Donovan’s flat, a mile from her home. She had been drugged and tethered to a strap tied to an attic roof beam for parts of her imprisonment.

Her disappearance led to one of the biggest search operations in the history of British policing. It cost £3.2 million and involved more than 300 officers, who searched 1,800 homes.

Donovan later admitted taking and holding Shannon but claimed to have been acting under duress after being threatened by Matthews.

In court she sobbed repeatedly, claiming that she played no role in the kidnapping and had not known who was holding Shannon. The jury was told, however, that she had “lied and lied and lied again”. In reality, she hoped to earn the £50,000 reward offered for her daughter’s safe return. Donovan was supposed to “find” Shannon and take her to a police station.

Speaking outside court, Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan, who led the search, said the experience had been harrowing for all involved in the investigation.

“The vast majority of staff and officers were parents or grandparents themselves,” he said. “On the day she was found alive, everyone was in tears. I’ve never seen an incident room like it. It was a very emotional time.”

The five drugs given to Shannon Matthews for at least 20 months:

Temazepam Class C controlled drug. A powerful hypnotic sedative. Never prescribed to children, except pre-operatively

Meclozine Active agent in Traveleeze, an over-the-counter travel sickness medication. Side-effects include drowsiness

Amitriptyline Prescription only. Antidepressant used for long-term treatment of depression in adults. Dangerous in excess

Tramadol Used to treat moderate to severe pain after injury, surgery or heart attack. Not recommended for children under 12. Side-effects include drowsiness, dizziness, confusion and vomiting

Dihydrocodeine Opiate painkiller, generally available only on prescription. Side-effects include drowsiness, nausea and dizziness

Sources: Dr Craig Chatterton, Forensic Science Service, who tested a 20cm length of Shannon’s hair. Karen Matthews refused to allow drug tests on her other children.

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