THREE sisters were beaten until they bled and called derogatory names on their first day at an orphanage, an inquiry has heard.

The claims were made at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry by a woman in her 60s, who cannot be named, who lived at Nazareth House in Aberdeen from 1967.

The witness was the eldest and aged 10 at the time, while the youngest was a toddler. She said: “We got up to the second floor and it just started, really quite severe. Hitting, punching, hitting you on your ears. We were Glasgow tinks, we were whores, we were sluts.”

The witness added that they were “battered” until they were left bleeding all over their bodies.

The inquiry heard that when she started her period aged 11 she was told by a nun she would “be dead by midnight”, so her and other children were left watching the clock that night waiting for her to die.

She described another instance where she says she was so badly beaten she started “foaming at the mouth”, with her head being smashed against a radiator.

The witness said believes she was sent first to Nazareth House in Cardonald in 1965, and according to records she left in 1971.

Colin MacAulay QC, senior counsel to the inquiry, told how one of the nuns had denied all of the allegations made against her.

The witness said there were some nuns at the home who were nice and would stand up for her, including one she kept in touch with through letters after leaving care.

The inquiry continues.