A STEP-FATHER accused of cruelty denied in court yesterday that he beat his two adopted children with a belt.

The 49-year-old man said that he only tapped his step-daughter a couple of times on the bottom with his bare hand after she had misbehaved.

He told a jury at Teesside Crown Court that he did no more than flick his step-son with an open palm.

"I gave him a clip when I found he had been stealing or lying, but only a dozen times in all," said the man.

He and his wife, from Spennymoor, County Durham, deny ill-treating the two children over a period of six years.

The boy, now 14, alleged that this included forcing him to eat a pet rabbit after it was killed by a dog, and locking him in his room all night without letting him go to the toilet.

The girl, now 16, claimed her step-father used his belt on her about ten times and that his wife banged her head against a wall.

The couple face a total of nine charges, one involving a 17-year-old girl who sparked off the investigation by accusing the man of assaulting her last year.

The step-mother has been cleared on the direction of the judge of one count of cruelty by soaking the boy in cold water and making him stand outside in the winter with the bucket over his head.

The trial continues