Near death baby's doctor visit delayed by plumber

Tony Smith and Jody Simpson deny assaulting their baby

The father of a baby close to death did not take him to a doctor because he was waiting for a plumber, a court heard.

Jody Simpson, 24, and Tony Smith, 46, from Whitstable, deny assaulting, ill treating or neglecting their child, to cause unnecessary suffering or injury.

Mr Smith admitted picking his son up and dropping him down rapidly while changing his nappy.

He also told Maidstone Crown Court Ms Simpson was "a bit clumsy every now and again".

Ms Simpson and Mr Smith, of Sydney Road, called the GP on 14 November 2014, saying their six-week-old son had cold symptoms.

He was seen by a doctor four days later and immediately transferred to hospital where tests showed he had eight fractures, multiple infections and septicaemia. He survived.

'What should I do?'

John Barker, representing Ms Simpson, asked Mr Smith why he had not taken his son, also called Tony, to the doctor.

He answered: "I'm on benefits so I had to wait for the council man to come out and fix the gas.

"If we weren't in the flat we would have to pay a £60 fine."

He was accused of having to be persuaded to go to the hospital with his partner and ill son.

"So what should I do? Walk out of the flat and leave the plumber on his own?," he said.

Mr Smith was asked if Ms Stimpson was a good mother and he replied she was a "bit clumsy every now and again".

"She would do a baby's bottle with hot water and she would try and give the baby a bottle before it cooled down."

He denied he was ever "less than gentle" with his son but admitted picking him up and dropping him down rapidly while changing his nappy.

The trial continues.