JURORS in a murder trial have had conflicting evidence from two pathologists who have given their opinions on how they thought a toddler died almost 50 years ago.

Paul Booth suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain during an incident at his family home in 1968, and his step-father David Dearlove is accused of killing him.

The prosecution at Teesside Crown Court allege that former ICI worker Mr Dearlove was abusive, and swung the 19-month-old by his ankles and smashed his head into a fireplace.

Defence lawyers suggest that the boy fell from his bed - possibly from a standing-up position, rather than rolling out asleep - and cracked his skull on the concrete floor.

The case comes about because Paul's older brother Peter went to police in 2015 after seeing a photograph of the toddler on social media, and said he remembered the attack.

Home Office pathologist, Dr Mark Egan, used a doll to show the jury how he believed Paul had been killed - by taking it by the legs and banging it into the side of the witness box.

He said the injuries indicated a “severe degree of blunt force trauma sufficient to fracture the skull” and that “a separate impact” had caused bleeding inside Paul’s skull.

Asked if he felt the fractures could have been caused by a fall from bed, Dr Egan said: “Only a very small number of short falls result in any injury at all."

He told the jury of ten women and two men: "Only one to three per cent are associated with a simple fracture - only one per cent of those are associated with any bleeding on the brain whatsoever.

“In my opinion a short fall does not explain the head injury. The underlying pathology is that of a baby swung or impacted against a surface.”

Tim Roberts QC, defending, asked whether Dr Egan had considered the possibility that Paul had been standing up in bed before he fell - which would have been double the height.

The pathologist said it was “still a short fall with the same implications which can be formed from it”, and discounted potential falls from a moped or down stairs.

Dr Egan told the court: “There are no injuries to the shoulders, arms or extremities. The injuries are not compatible with that version of events.

“The totality of these injuries is not compatible with a fall down stairs. I don’t think any expert would offer that as an explanation. I think these are consistent with abusive injuries.”

Defence pathologist Dr Deryk James, who has also carried out Home Office work for more than 20 years, told the jury that many of the injuries could have been accidental.

Basing his findings on photographs of the terraced house in Haverton Hill, near Stockton, from the time, he said it was "clearly an unsafe environment" with "hazards there".

Dr James said medical evidence suggested some "non-accidental injuries", but disputed the idea that Paul's fractured skull was caused by being swung into a hard object.

Mr Dearlove, now from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, denies murder, manslaughter and cruelty charges, is expected to give evidence at the start of the defence case tomorrow.

The case continues.