TWO parents who failed to take their baby boy to hospital despite him having nine broken bones face jail after they pleaded guilty to child cruelty charges.

Tracy McKenzie and Scott Colman both admitted failing to seek medical assistance for the youngster after doctors discovered the horrific injuries while looking for symptoms of meningitis.

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Judge Andrew Woolman told Burnley Crown Court that ‘a custodial sentence was ‘distinctly on the cards’ given the seriousness of the neglect.

The boy suffered a fractured skull with bleeding on the brain, as well as fractures to five ribs, two vertebrae and one leg, between September 16 and December 17, 2012.

McKenzie, 41, and Colman, 30, both of Rhyddings Street, Oswaldtwistle, had originally denied the allegations when they were arrested.

A second child cruelty charge, which related to the baby’s twin brother, was not pursued.

Detective Constable Madeleine Barrientos (CORRECT), from Lancashire police’s child protection unit, described the case as ‘particularly sad’.

She said: “Obviously they have pleaded guilty to child neglect, which covers quite a broad spectrum.

“Eventually Colman has admitted the same charge as McKenzie, on the basis that they had not sought medical attention for the child.

“Neither has admitted being responsible for the injuries. We could not prove, and they would not admit it. It is absolutely frustrating that we could not prove that.

“I am satisfied in the respect that they have both admitted being at fault for not seeking medical assistance, but we still have that question outstanding of where the injuries came from.

“I think the injuries to the children are severe enough to merit a custodial sentence, one which reflects the seriousness of the case.

“The child in this instance was extremely young. We know there were numerous injuries so it is a particularly sad case.”

Colman had contacted NHS direct with concerns over the baby’s health on December 8, 2012. Two doctors attended the couple’s former home in New Lane, Oswaldtwistle, and recommended that the baby was taken to hospital.

The pair where then arrested after tests at Royal Blackburn Hospital two days later. They were charged with two counts causing unnecessary suffering to a child under the age of 16 by assault, ill treatment, neglect or abandonment in April last year.

On the second day of their trial at Burnley Crown Court in February, McKenzie, who worked part-time, changed her initial not guilty plea to a guilty.

Prosecutor Hugh McKee told the court on that occasion that a consultant believed the injuries were caused deliberately and that the defendants were ‘the only people who looked after the twins from birth’.

Colman was due to face trial in front of a new jury in Burnley this week, but also changed his not guilty plea to guilty.

Setting sentencing for December 8, Judge Woolman said: “I will adjourn for pre-sentence reports, and counsel might well need to talk to social services as well.

“I will grant you bail on the same conditions as before. This case is serious and a custodial sentence is distinctly on the cards.”