The mother accused of murdering toddler Alfie Phillips has claimed her lover attacked the tot while she was away trying to buy drugs.

The 18-month-old child was discovered with multiple injuries in a caravan mum Sian Hedges shared with boyfriend Jack Benham in Hernhill, near Faversham.

Both deny murder and an alternative charge of causing or allowing the death of a child.

At the trial at Maidstone Crown Court today, Hedges said: "I have told the truth in court. This is about getting justice for my son."

Hedges was asked: "Is it your case that Jack Benham must have hurt him [Alfie] while you were away [from the caravan]?

The 27-year-old replied: "Yes."

Hedges, who denies murder, said: "Well I didn't cause the injuries."

She had earlier revealed how she lied to a number of people in the days and months prior to Alfie’s death.

But Hedges denied she was a "skilled and good" liar who had changed her accounts about events to "point the finger" at her lover.

Hedges and boyfriend Jack Benham are both accused of murdering Alfie in November 2020.

She also denied leaving any of the bite marks which were found by a pathologist.

Hedges admitted that she had often "nibbled" Alfie's body "because it made him laugh."

Benham's barrister Ian Henderson KC asked: "Did you do anything to Alfie's back which would have left that mark?"

Hedges, shown images of Alfie's injuries, replied: "I could have bit him harder than I thought...I was shocked and disgusted with myself that I could potentially mark my son.

"Potentially, I could have caused one of these marks but I would never have hurt my son. He was my world.

"There is no way I hurt my boy, no way. I could have done it accidentally while we were playing, but I would never have deliberately hurt him.

"I didn't bite him on purpose."

Hedges had earlier admitted lying to two friends about her grandmother dying, adding: "It just slipped out and I couldn't take it back."

She told the jury she had been arguing with her then boyfriend – Alfie’s dad, Sam Phillips - and wanted to get away.

"I wanted out. I accept I was capable of adapting my lies,” she said.

Hedges said she feared violence at home and then lied about getting a job.

"My nan and grandad were disappointed when I told them about the lie,” she said.

"At the time, I was borrowing money from my nan and I wanted her to think I was more financially secure than I was."

She also admitted lying to Benham while she was also seeing Alfie's father.

Hedges broke down when she told how she had applied for a council house, adding she did not find looking after the 18-month-old "challenging".

"But when he wouldn't settle I thought I was a bad mum. I didn't like it when he was crying. I thought I was doing something wrong. Alfie didn't like going to bed."

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 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.