A jury has heard how a man accused of murdering a toddler said "What have I done?" after being told of his death – while the boy’s mother broke down in tears.

Jack Benham had followed the ambulance carrying 18-month-old Alfie Phillips to the QEQM Hospital in Margate.

Paramedics had earlier been sent to his home in Hernhill, near Faversham, following a 999 call.

Alfie's mother Sian Hedges, 27, and her then-partner Benham, 35, are on trial accused of subjecting the little boy to a fatal assault in November 2020.

In a statement read to the jury at Maidstone Crown Court today, paramedic Lucy Goddard told how ambulance staff performed CPR on Alfie.

She said Hedges collapsed after arriving at the hospital and being told her son had died.

"As the car approached I heard Sian shouting for the car to stop when she saw me and she got out and ran towards me,” she said.

"She was very distressed - visibly crying. Jack followed behind her and he was quiet and withdrawn.

"They were told that Alfie had passed. Sian collapsed to the floor and screamed and wretched as if to vomit."

The paramedic said Benham had not appeared to have heard what had been said so she told him.

“He just put his hand to his head, shaking it,” she said.

"Sian grabbed hold of him from the floor around his waist and was screaming and distressed but he pulled away and left the room, leaving her there.

"I followed him outside to check he was okay and he kept shaking his head and said: ‘What have I done?’”

Ms Goddard revealed how when other family members arrived, Benham shouted: "He's dead."

She said: "When they reached [Benham] he said to them ‘What have I done?’ and they told him he couldn’t blame himself.

“Jack and Sian then seemed to be comforting each other."

The jury also watched footage of the moment Hedges and Benson arrived at the QEQM.

Hedges was heard saying: "I can see his legs. My God, my God. He was fine this morning. Oh, he was absolutely fine - God, why? He was fine this morning.

"No, no, no. My boy."

The jury also watched the moment Hedges was arrested.

After being told by the officer that Alfie had unexplained injuries, she replied: "Are you joking?"

Later she told a police officer: "I don't understand. He is gone. He falls over all the time. He falls off the sofa."

The jury also heard the arrest of Benham at the hospital, when he shouted: "You're arresting me? No, no. You can't arrest me. What about Sian?”

He later told police: "Alfie was under my leg and you're arresting me?"

Histopathologist Prof David Mangham had earlier told of his examination of Alfie's injuries to his arm and leg, left toe, ribcage and chest spine.

He said: "CPR in Alfie's case was unsuccessful and can, in adults, result in fractures, but rib fractures are uncommon in someone of Alfie's age.

"Some of the fractures could not have been caused by CPR and some were highly indicative of abuse. Fractures of the sternum during CPR are very unusual.”

He said that microscopic examination revealed two fractures in Alfie's left arm near his wrist.

Prof Mangham said that evidence showed that the injuries happened between two and 12 hours prior to the toddler’s death.

He added that there were partial fractures in Alfie’s right arm which happened more likely at the time or just prior to death.

"They would have been caused by a high level of force,” he said.

The professor said there would have been “a squeezing or gripping”.

Prof Mangham said: "In Alfie's right foot, I found three fractures in the first metatarsal bone which joins with the big toe, and a crush fracture [...] which were between two to 12 hours old and another between 36 hours and 72 hours before death.

"These are small bones and were probably caused by crushing."

Alfie's left leg had complete fractures closer to the ankle bone and a shattering of the bone with force applied along the bone. The appearance is this happened within hours of his death.

"I found a fracture in Alfie's fourth bone in his left foot, between two and 12 hours prior to death,” the professor said.

The expert also examined Alfie's ribs and discovered fractures, some of which occurred shortly before or at the time of death.

The professor added: "His sternum was also fractured, which would have required a higher level of force."

Previously, Hedges cried in the dock as the prosecution outlined the case against her and Benham during the trial’s opening.

The jury was told she had recently split from Alfie's father, Sam Phillips, and was living with her son and new boyfriend in a caravan in the back garden of Benham’s parents’ home in Hernhill.

On the evening of Friday, November 27, 2020, she and Benham were in his parents’ house with Alfie, where the toddler was said to have been looking well and without visible injuries by several of Benham’s relatives.

The youngster was taken back to the caravan at 7pm and was not seen again by anyone other than Benham and Hedges until about 11.30am the following morning.

It was during these hours it is alleged Alfie was murdered.

The court was told that shortly before 11.30am on the Saturday, Benham came to the main house with Alfie in his arms. The toddler was described as “blue and floppy” and was not breathing.

Benham’s mother, Joan Benham, started performing CPR in the living room and his father, Mark Benham, called 999.

Paramedics arrived within 10 minutes but it was immediately apparent to them Alfie had been “dead for some time”, said prosecutor Jennifer Knight.

Mrs Benham noticed a number of bruises to Alfie’s face she said had not been there the night before.

Benham came into the living room and told paramedics Alfie had been grumpy the night before so they took him into bed with them - and when they woke Alfie was trapped under Benham’s legs and they could not wake him.

Alfie was taken to the QEQM and pronounced dead at 12.35pm.

A skeletal survey and post-mortem examinations revealed he had multiple fractures to both of his arms, his ribs and one leg, as well as widespread bruising, marks and scrapes across his body.

Tests indicated many of the breaks to his bones would have occurred in the hours before Alfie’s death.

Ms Knight told the jury earlier in the trial: “It is clear that Alfie Philips was deliberately injured on more than one occasion, culminating in an assault perpetrated during the night of November 27 to 28 that led to his death.

“Had either defendant not been joining in with the assaults, he or she would have stopped the attack and removed Alfie Phillips from the caravan.

“The fact that this did not happen can only be because both defendants agreed that the assaults should take place and each played their part.”

The jury was told Hedges and Benham were arrested on the evening of Saturday, November 28, and interviewed over the course of two days.

Tests showed both had used cocaine and Hedges admitted to police she had taken a £40 bag over the course of three hours after Alfie went to sleep, the prosecution said.

The pair also drank whisky and Coke, with Hedges telling police they had their last drink at about 1am and then went to sleep in the same bed as Alfie.

Benham, of Highstreet Road, Hernhill, and Hedges, of Fillace Park, Yelverton, Devon, deny murder and an alternative charge of causing or allowing the death of a child.

The trial continues.