Two people from Brentwood have admitted causing or allowing a child who was found with life-threatening injuries to suffer serious physical harm.

Vicky Hoad, 30, and Tyler Williams, 28, both of Shenfield Road in Brentwood, pleaded guilty to the offence earlier this year but this can now be reported after a trial ended on June 27 where a third person was found not guilty of the same offence.

The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was subject to a campaign of physical abuse, police said.

Det Con Ollie Jones, who led the investigation, said: "Anyone who hears the details of this case cannot fail to be sickened by the injuries caused to this child and the impact this will undoubtedly have on the rest of their life.

"This was a harrowing case for all of the officers involved but we are pleased that those responsible will now have to face the consequences of their actions," he added.

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Hoad had also pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, and the pair will be sentenced at a later date.

On December 26, 2022, Hoad took the child to an Essex hospital saying they had fallen off a bike and become unwell.

Medical professionals quickly established the child's injuries were far worse than Hoad suggested and called police.

On admission, the child was found to have swelling to the scalp, missing hair believed to have been forcibly pulled out, damage to brain tissue, a fractured jaw and vertebrae and bruises to the body.

The victim was also scarred in multiple areas and underwent emergency surgery.

Det Con Jones said the pair lied to police.

"Both defendants in this case either caused the serious physical harm or knew what was happening and failed to take any reasonable steps to protect the child.

"They continued to lie throughout the police investigation but our child abuse investigation team worked tirelessly to build the case against them in order to get justice for the victim," he added.