Three-year-old's skull fractured and legs bruised, court told
A mother has denied causing any injuries to her son after he was left with a fractured skull and severe bruising to his leg.
She claimed it was her former partner who caused the injuries in January last year, when both appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
The parents from Walsall, who cannot be named for legal reasons to protect the identity of the child, are both in their 20s.
The father has pleaded guilty to one charge of cruelty to a person under the age of 15, and he is being tried on three counts of causing or allowing serious harm to a child.
The boy's mother has admitted two counts of causing or allowing serious harm to a child, and denied one count. She has also pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to a person under the age of 15.
The court heard on Monday that social services were first alerted to the three-year-old's injuries when the mother had dropped off one of her children at nursery.
Staff had claimed the mother had tried to conceal facial injuries using a peaked cap, which she denied.
The mother said she returned home after visiting the shops to find her children upset and the next morning she had noticed bruising to the boy's eye and cheek area. She said she later spotted bruising on his legs.
The mother said she had lied about how the injuries had occurred to police because she was scared her former partner would leave them with no home and no money.
The father had admitted during an earlier hearing he had lost his temper and slapped the three-year-old three times, causing bruising to his legs, but denied causing further injuries. The trial continues.
