A BABY boy was left brain damaged and a young girl had broken bones and a fractured skull after suffering cruelty from a young couple.

But both Paul Lee Harrison, 23, and Joanne Louise Watkins, 24, of Francis Street, Blackburn, denied injuring the babies, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, when they appeared before Preston Crown Court yesterday.

A charge of grievous bodily harm against Harrison was dropped but both pleaded guilty to wilfully assaulting or exposing the children in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering.

Judge David Boulton said it would be hard to prove which defendant had injured the babies, but said one must have known the other had carried out the assaults.

He said: "One of the persons is guilty of these attacks."

The court was told that police and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council's social services department launched an investigation after the babies were admitted to Queen's Park Hospital on Saturday April 7 last year.

Doctors suspected that the babies' injuries were not accidental, the court was told.

Detective Constable Donna Cross said the boy was admitted to the hospital and had a traumatic injury to the brain probably caused by shaking.

He was later transferred to Manchester's Pendlebury Children's Hospital where he spent some time on a life support machine.

He now has permanent brain damage which has led to a variety of complications, including problems talking, walking, seeing and hearing, the court was told.

DC Cross said the baby girl had two broken ribs, a skull fracture, two fractures to the arm, and two fractures in her leg. Police suspected again that the injuries were caused by shaking, she said.

Harrison and Watkins were bailed on the condition that Harrison lives in Beresford Road, Blackburn, and Watkins at Brodick Road, and that they comply with probation officers preparing a pre-sentence report.

They will be sentenced on July 15.

After the hearing, Ken Foote, director of social services for the council, said: "The children were not known to the department prior to the incident.

"The staff moved quickly after their injuries and the children are now being cared for."