A young girl told police that her father collected worms from the ground and spiders from their house for some of his eight children to eat.

Today in the High Court at Wellington jurors saw an interview recorded with an 11-year-old girl in February last year. The interview took place nearly a year after the children were removed from their parents' Porirua home.

The girl said she was handcuffed, her eyes and mouth were taped and when the tape was pulled off worms were put in her mouth and one of her brothers was made to eat spiders.

She said she felt sick but she, some of her sisters and her brother chewed before spitting out what they were given.

The girl's interview was being played on the second day of the trial of her parents and two men known to her as "uncles". All four have name suppression.

Her parents have pleaded not guilty to charges of cruelty to each of the eight children between November 2009 and March 2010 when the children were removed.

All four accused face sex charges in relation to the children. The father and one of the uncles are also charged with assault.

Four of the father's charges allege he assaulted the children and put bugs in their mouths.

During the recorded interview the girl said her mother had laughed while her father and other men touched her when she was lying naked on the kitchen table.

The trial is continuing.

- © Fairfax NZ News