A man accused of murdering a toddler learned his universal credit had been stopped on the day the girl suffered fatal head injuries, a court heard.

Michael Daymond was charged with murder when Maya Louise Chappell died two days after the defendant called for an ambulance when she stopped breathing.

Maya’s mother, Dana Carr, is also on trial at Teesside Crown Court as a result of the two-year-old’s death last September.

Daymond’s mother, Claire Snaith, said she had fallen out with her son when her home was repeatedly vandalised when he fell into debt with people believed to be drug dealers.

The Northern Echo: Maya ChappellMaya Chappell (Image: Contributor)

She told the court that they were only reunited in July around the time of her son’s birthday at a time when he had just started a new relationship with his co-accused.

Ms Snaith said the only time she spoke to her son on the day that Maya suffered her fatal injuries was when Daymond told her that his universal credit had been stopped.

When asked how he seemed when he told her his benefits had been stopped, she replied: 'He seemed fine'.

She told jurors that she had no concerns about her son looking after Maya.

Under cross examination by Daymond's barrister, Nicholas Lumley KC, Ms Snaith said her son got on 'very well' with Maya.

“He laughed and played with which was nice to see as he doesn't have contact with his own daughter,” she added.

Ms Snaith said both her son and Carr had mentioned to her that Maya would regularly fall over and had started to nip herself in the weeks leading up to her death.

The Northern Echo: Floral tributes laid outside Maya's home in Shotton Colliery following her deathFloral tributes laid outside Maya's home in Shotton Colliery following her death (Image: The Northern Echo)

Karl Gallagher, Daymond's stepfather, told the jury that people had been turning up at his door to collect a debt.

Under cross examination by Daymond's barrister, Nicholas Lumley KC, he told the court that he had had his windows broken, paint thrown across his home and fuses stolen from his property - leaving the family without electricity.

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Earlier in the trial, jurors heard how Maya suffered significant head injuries on September 28 last year and despite the best efforts medical staff, she died two days later without ever regaining consciousness.

Daymond, formerly of Shotton Colliery, County Durham, has pleaded not guilty to murder and a second charge of cruelty to a child.

Twenty-four-year-old Carr, also formerly of Shotton Colliery, denies child cruelty and allowing the death of a child.

The trial continues.