A babysitter today denied murdering a two-year-old boy.

Susan Holdsworth pleaded not guilty to killing Kyle Fisher, who died from head injuries on July 21.

The 34-year-old, of Millpool Close, Hartlepool, entered the plea during a brief plea and directions hearing before Judge Peter Fox QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, at Teesside Crown Court.

The judge set a trial date for February 22 and Holdsworth was given conditional bail to live at an address in Leeds where she has found shift work since Kyle's death.

The boy, who lived on the Central Estate in Hartlepool with his 19-year-old mother, Claire, died in Newcastle General Hospital two days after being discovered collapsed at his babysitter's home.