A TWO-MONTH-OLD baby suffered a brain injury after being shaken by his father, a court heard.

Bradford Crown Court was told the baby became ill after his father threw him in the air and spun him around. The dad told police he had been over zealous, it was alleged.

The next day, paramedics had to be called to the family home in Keighley after the tot was violently sick and became floppy. The prosecution claimed that was due to the baby being shaken by his father.

The 40-year-old man, who cannot be identified in order to protect the child, pleaded not guilty to two charges of child cruelty, on consecutive days in April 2013.

Prosecutor Matthew Bean said it was alleged the defendant wilfully ill-treated his son on the first occasion and wilfully assaulted him on the second.

Mr Bean said that before the incidents there had been no concerns about the baby’s health or development, and no concerns had been raised about his parents. But he said that on two separate occasions, the father acted in such a way as to harm the boy in what amounted to child cruelty.

He said that on April 20, 2013, the defendant wilfully ill-treated the boy. This was based on admissions he made in police interviews, the prosecutor alleged.

He told police he had his son in his arms and was spinning him round. He thought he was “over zealous,” and was throwing the baby “up in the air slightly and catching him.”

The father said the baby was enjoying it but the child’s mother warned the defendant to be careful because the youngster’s head was going backward and forward.

The court heard that the next day, the baby became pale and did not feed properly.

Mr Bean said that was caused by the defendant’s actions the day before.

The prosecutor said the second offence took place on April 21. A 999 call was made by the baby’s mother, at around 8.30pm. Paramedics were told he had been vomiting and his head was floppy. They found him to be pale and not responding.

The baby was taken to the accident and emergency department at Airedale General Hospital, but transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, where he was found to be suffering from a very low heart rate and high blood pressure. His condition was eventually stabilised, but a scan in September showed an injury to the brain. An assessment a year after the incident showed evidence of delayed neuro development.

Mr Bean told the jury: “Due to the nature of the injury it’s likely this traumatic event was a shaking event, allowing the head to shake forward and back uncontrollably.”

He said it was likely to have been caused within 30 minutes of the child’s collapse, when the defendant was alone with him.

The trial continues.

MORE TOP STORIES