TEENAGE parents were given probation supervision yesterday for cruelty to their baby who had a fractured arm, leg and rib.

Daniel Ayres was 17 and his partner, Claire Peacock, 18, when three-month-old baby Katie suffered her injuries at their home in Hemlington, Middlesbrough.

The three fractures were caused at different times and would have left the baby in pain and unable to use her arm, said prosecutor Rod Hunt.

The couple took her to The James Cook University Hospital accident and emergency unit on March 17 last year, when Ayres told staff that he may have caused the injuries while hauling her out of her Moses basket.

But the explanation was not accepted because the injuries came from squeezing and twisting movements, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Mr Hunt said: "He accepted squeezing the child too hard. The mother concedes that they should have sought attention earlier.

"The Crown make it clear that this is a case based upon the defendants' ignorance and inadequecy as parents, and fear of the consequences of what they did, rather than malice."

Robin Turton, mitigating for Ayres, said he was desperate to be a better father to his child.

The baby is now with her paternal grandmother, and the couple are being monitored by various agencies until her future is decided by the Family Court next month.

Kate Dodds mitigating for the mother, said that the couple both show warmth and affection to the baby when they are supervised by experts.

The couple, formerly of Doxford Walk, Hemlington, and now of Grange Estate, Lazenby, were both given a two-year community order with supervision, and the mother was ordered to attend a 20-session education and training programme after they pleaded guilty to child cruelty.