Wayne Acott is on trial at Maidstone Crown Court

by Keith Hunt

A father accused of killing his young baby was "lethargic and mumbling" when asked by police officers what had happened, a court heard.

PC Joanne Hazelwood said she and a colleague could smell cannabis at Wayne Acott's Maidstone home.

"I noticed his appearance," she said. "He had red sunken eyes. He had the appearance of someone who had potentially been up all night. He was very lethargic and mumbling."

The officer said she asked Acott what had happened to four-month-old Mackenzie that morning, January 21 last year.

He told her he had been asleep on the sofa at the flat in Square Hill Road and the baby woke him up crying for his second feed.

"I picked him up and put him on my lap," he said. "I picked up his bottle. He started struggling to breathe. I picked him up and patted his back.

"He started going ‘Ah, ah’. I was told to put him upside down and pat his back. He started to breathe better. He was all limp and his breathing was funny.

"I put him on the sofa and rang my other half. She literally walked through the front door. She rang for an ambulance. They started telling us to do stuff."

PC Hazelwood said Acott was arrested on suspicion of child neglectThe prosecution at Maidstone Crown Court allege Acott, 22, caused the baby fatal injuries after being up most of the night watching television and playing on a computer.

"he had red sunken eyes. he had the appearance of someone who had potentially been up all night. he was very lethargic and mumbling…” – pc joanne hazelwood

He had also been smoking cannabis and had toothache and a headache when the baby’s "catastrophic collapse" happened.

The child died a week later from brain damage.

Sally Howes QC, prosecuting, suggested Acott had shaken the child in what could have been a momentary loss of control.

Acott denies manslaughter, claiming he did nothing to harm Mackenzie.

His partner Susan York agreed when questioned by defence QC Orlando Pownall that he was a loving father.

She also agreed that he would often not return home until the early hours. He had bad toothache and it was "a pretty regular complaint", she added.

Ambulance technician Charlene Carter, the first medic on the scene, said she put her ear to the baby’s mouth and could only feel feint "inadequate" breath.

"I listened for a heartbeat with a stethoscope but could not detect one," she said. "I began resuscitation."

She had met Acott outside the flat on the first floor of the block after receiving a call at 9.17am.

"I asked him what was wrong and he said he was feeding the baby and he had stopped breathing," she said.

"I went into the flat and I saw a young baby lying motionless on the floor. I could see his complexion and his hands were blue. He felt warm."

Another technician, Darren Fisher, and a paramedic arrived at 9.36am and took over.

Mr Fisher said Mackenzie was pale and limp. He had described the baby in a statement as being "absolutely lifeless".

Resuscitation continued. The baby was not blue, said Mr Fisher, but "very, very pale". He was "quite pink" on arrival at Maidstone Hospital.

"The baby was unresponsive," he continued. "His pupils were fixed. There was no reaction at all. He was not breathing by himself and had to be artificially ventilated."

The ambulance arrived at the hospital at 9.59am and Mackenzie was handed over to the resuscitation team there. Mr Fisher agreed the baby was effectively dead for 30 minutes.

He was transferred to London’s King’s College Hospital, where he died.