A specialist doctor told jurors how a toddler’s head injuries were ‘unsurvivable’ after the blood flow to his brain reduced after being shaken vigorously.

Charlie Roberts died the day after he suffered fatal head injuries at his Darlington home just minutes after his mother left for an appointment.

The toddler had been left in the care of Christopher Stockton, the partner of Paula Roberts, before emergency services were called when he became unresponsive.

Dr Daniel du Plessis, a leading neuropathologist, discounted a fall from bed as a cause of the head injury telling jurors that they were caused by a third party.

Christopher Stockton, left, with Charlie Roberts and his mother, PaulaChristopher Stockton, left, with Charlie Roberts and his mother, Paula (Image: Facebook)

The trauma specialist told jurors at Teesside Crown Court that the bleed on the brain could only have been caused shortly before Charlie collapsed.

He said after analysing Charlie’s brain he said he would not have been eating a biscuit and climbing through a tunnel in the minutes before his collapse.

“There was a period where his brain was starved of blood and oxygen supply and we know that happened because he stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating and it took around 30 minutes to revive him,” he said.

“Looking at the scans, the damage was so severe that there was no chance that Charlie could survive this type of injury.

“It’s quite clear that the reason for his cardiac arrest was a head injury, it was a traumatic event on his spine – that is why he stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating.”

Charlie RobertsCharlie Roberts (Image: Family handout)

Dr du Plessis said the unsurvivable injury had occurred in the 48 hours before his death and he had survived for 30 hours before he died in hospital.

Dealing with the cause of the injuries, he said: “The common denominator is what appears to be forceful repetitive movement of the head on the neck, in an excessive manner. One way that can happen on a child is forceful shaking of a child.

“This profile, whatever happened, involved excessive toing and froing of the head.”

Earlier in the trial, the jury had listened to the recording of the 999 call where the accused can be heard saying that Charlie wasn’t breathing properly after he had choked on something.

Jurors had heard how there was no evidence of anything being stuck in the toddler’s airways and hospital medics were soon able to identify the cause of Charlie’s ailing health.

See more court stories from The Northern Echo by clicking here

Don’t miss out on our biggest sale of the year! Get a full year of the Northern Echo for only £25 or try 6 months for just £6. Click here for details.

Stockton denies the murder of the toddler.

The 38-year-old and the child’s mother, 41-year-old Roberts, are both charged with neglect. The pair both deny the charge.

Stockton, of Neasham Road, Darlington, remains remanded in custody while Roberts, of Darlington, has been released on conditional bail during proceedings.

The trial continues.