THREE senior judges have two weeks to decide whether two families from the Blackburn area should lose their children because a baby was shaken so violently she is now permanently injured.

A Blackburn County Court judge ruled in April that neither the girl, now 15 months old, or the childminder's 16-month-old son, should be taken from their parents and put into permanent care.

The dilemma facing Judge Gee started because Lancashire County Council could not establish whether the parents or the childminder shook the baby, and therefore asked the county court to make orders putting both children into care.

But the problem facing Judge Gee and now the Court of Appeal Judges is that if they put both children into care they will be removing one of them from innocent parents.

If neither is put into care, they will be putting one child at risk from whoever caused the injuries.

Edward Ryder QC, for the council, told the Court of Appeal that the girl suffered severe injuries on two occasions which could have been caused while she was in the care of the parents or the childminder. The mother broke down in court as the details of her daughter's injuries were described. The girl, Miss A has been taken away temporarily while the case is being decided.

Mr Ryder said Miss A's mother would go to work leaving the baby with the girl's father and he would leave her with the childminder. Any one of the three could have caused the injuries. Pending the judges' ruling Miss A is with a foster carer and child B is with his grandparents.

Jill Black QC, representing the childminder, argued that the childminder should have her boy back because he had suffered no harm.

She said there was no evidence that the childminder was responsible for shaking the girl.

David Harris QC, for the parents of the girl, said it was for the local authority to prove that the child suffered injury while in their care.

The parents maintained their innocence and said it was wrong for the authority to intervene.

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