A CHILD health expert has told a jury that it would have been easy for a father to administer drugs to the newborn son he is accused of trying to murder.

The Darlington dad is alleged to have poisoned his baby with the powerful painkillers Tramadol and codeine in the first three months of his life.

Teesside Crown Court has heard that the boy was treated at four hospitals in the North-East as doctors struggled to understand the cause of his illnesses.

Eventually, blood and urine test results showed that the adult medication had been ingested, and the baby’s father became a suspect, partly because of his behaviour.

Yesterday, a paediatrician told the jury that she concluded there were 18 separate episodes of illness after she examined medical and scientific reports.

Dr Kate Wood said a number of the episodes were serious or lifethreatening – including one when the baby collapsed when he was only seven days old.

She described the boy’s condition as grave and said: “There was a concern that if he had not been resuscitated, he would have died.

This was a very serious episode.”

The doctor told the jury that the baby’s condition at Darlington Memorial Hospital was consistent with him having been given codeine.

During her evidence, she was asked by Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, how the drug could have been administered, and Dr Wood replied: “It can be given in many ways. It can be given by mouth.

A tablet can be crushed and added to a liquid. It can be added to a syringe, for example. It could be administered through a spoon, even. It can be given by injection, or powder could be put on a finger into the child’s mouth.”

Dr Wood said there was a strong suggestion that some of the episodes were caused by “imposed upper airway obstruction” – suffocation or the obstruction of the nose or mouth.

During the baby’s final admission to hospital, he appeared to have had a fit or a seizure, which lasted for two-and-a-half hours after being left in the sole care of his father.

Dr Wood said baby’s twisting and posture was likely to have been a reaction, which led to respiratory arrest and was consistent with being given Tramadol.

The baby’s father had been prescribed the drug – described by Dr Wood as a potent pain-reliever – months before the birth of the child, following an accident.

The man, who cannot be named, denies administering a poison – codeine – so as to endanger life; child cruelty; attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The trial continues.