Ellie, 15, was last seen leaving her home address in Northallerton at around 10pm on Sunday (April 19).

The missing girl is described as white, 5ft 5 inches tall, of slim build, with blonde hair.

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North Yorkshire Police said: “She may be wearing beige trousers, a beige crop top with long sleeves and white trainers.

“She may be in the Durham area.

“If you see her, please call 999. If you have any other information that could help us find her, call North Yorkshire Police on 101.

“Please quote 12260070432 when sharing information.”

But while many parents spend extra on snacks, toys and tablets, there’s one simple trick that could make the journey much easier, and it won’t cost a thing.

Free entertainment kits are quietly offered by many airlines, yet most families don’t realise they exist.

The airline freebie most parents never ask for

Airlines often stock children’s activity kits filled with items like colouring books, crayons, puzzles and even soft toys.

The catch is they’re rarely advertised and usually only handed out if you ask.

For parents dealing with restless children mid-flight, that can be a missed opportunity.

According to education expert David Smith of SVHS, these small perks can make a big difference in the air.

Which airlines offer free kids’ kits?

Some airlines go further than others when it comes to family-friendly extras.

• Emirates is known for offering some of the most generous kits, including plush toys, games and themed activity packs
• Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines also provide well-stocked kits with puzzles, stickers and drawing materials
• Delta Air Lines offers activity packs on selected routes
• British Airways and Lufthansa sometimes provide simpler options such as colouring sets and themed bags

Even some lower-cost airlines may have basic kits available, though selection can vary depending on the flight.

When to ask (this makes all the difference)

Timing can determine whether you get one of these kits or miss out completely.

• At booking: Mention you’re travelling with children and ask if anything can be added to your reservation
• At the gate: This is often your best chance. Ask staff before boarding begins
• On board: Request early, as supplies may run out quickly

A simple, polite request is often all it takes.

Other free perks families should know about

Entertainment kits aren’t the only extras available. Parents can often request:

• Child-friendly meals that are more appealing to picky eaters
• Extra blankets and pillows for added comfort
• Family boarding to get settled without the usual rush

These small touches can make a noticeable difference, especially on longer journeys.

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Something as simple as a new colouring book can hold a child’s attention far longer than something they’ve already used at home.

Knowing what to ask for, and when, could turn a stressful journey into a far smoother experience, without adding anything to your holiday budget.

And when it comes to long flights, a small freebie at the right moment can go a very long way.

Are you travelling soon? Let us know in the comments below.

BOSTON (AP) — John Korir outran the strongest field in Boston Marathon history and still had enough energy left to bounce around Boylston Street after learning he had blistered the course record, too.

The defending champion rode a tailwind on Monday to the fastest finish in the race’s 130-year history, winning in 2 hours, 1 minute, 52 seconds. That was 70 seconds faster than Geoffrey Mutai’s then-world best in 2011, and the fifth-fastest marathon of all time.

Korir said he knew he was on a record pace at the 40-kilometer mark, but he didn’t bother to check the clock as he crossed the finish line. He was informed of his accomplishment by Boston Athletic Association president Jack Fleming, and jumped for joy.

“When they told me I had run the course record, that’s when I started to be happy,” said the 29-year-old Kenyan, who last year joined his brother to become the first relatives to win the race. “I knew I would defend my title. But I didn’t know I could run that fast.”

Sharon Lokedi joined Korir as a back-to-back champion, winning the women’s race in 2:18:51 — a year after she shattered the course record by more than 2 1/2 minutes. The winners receive $150,000 and a gilded olive wreath sent from the plains of Marathon, Greece; Korir will receive another $50,000 for the course record.

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Alphonce Felix Simbu of Tanzania, who was 55 seconds back, and 2021 champion Benson Kipruto, another 3 seconds behind him, also were fast enough to beat the previous record on the hilly course that typically rewards racing strategy more than footspeed.

Kelvin Kiptum holds the marathon world record, with a 2:00:35 on the flatter Chicago course in 2023.

“Boston is not (usually) about time,” Kipruto said. “Today, it was about time.”

Zouhair Talbi and Jess McClain ran the fastest times ever in Boston for Americans — leading the seven U.S. men and 12 U.S. women who finished in the top 20.

Talbi, who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics for Morocco and became a U.S. citizen last year, was fifth in 2:03:45; McClain, who crossed in 2:20:49, also finished fifth.

“I think we’re in an era in distance running, on the men and women’s sides, but especially the women’s side, where we’re all making each other so much better every time we line up with one another,” McClain said. “And I think it’s just going to get stronger and stronger.”

Korir recovered after falling at the start last year to claim the title won by his brother Wesley in 2012.

This year, he broke away from the pack as it headed into the Newton hills and opened a 40-second lead. Korir peeked behind him as he went through Kenmore Square with a mile to go, sticking out his tongue and spreading his arms as he ran down Boylston Street.

Lokedi moved toward the front of the pack around Mile 17 and charged up Heartbreak Hill to pull ahead. On a day that started in the 30s but warmed to 45 degrees (7 degrees Celsius) by the start, Lokedi pulled off her gloves as she went through Coolidge Corner in Brookline and smiled her way down Boylston Street.

“I didn’t know how fast I was going. I just wanted to run as fast as I could,” said Lokedi, who realized on the bus to the start that she forgot her watch and had to borrow one. “I just wanted to get to the finish line as fast as possible.”

Loice Chemnung was second, 44 seconds back — a performance that would have been a course record before Lokedi’s 2:17:22 last year. Mary Ngugi-Cooper was third, completing the Kenyan sweep of the women’s podium.

Marcel Hug of Switzerland won his ninth wheelchair title in 1:16:06, a time second only to his 2024 course record. He is one shy of the all-category record of South African wheelchair athlete Ernst van Dyk’s 10 Boston Marathon wins.

Two-time winner Daniel Romanchuk of Champaign, Illinois, was second behind Hug for the fourth straight time.

In the women’s wheelchair race, Eden Rainbow-Cooper of Britain won her second Boston title, finishing in 1:30:51 to beat runner-up Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland by more than two minutes.

The athletes arrived in Hopkinton with frost on the ground and temperatures in the 30s. Although it warmed up through the day, it was the coldest starting temperature since 2018, when 38 degree temperatures combined with a headwind and driving rain that led to the slowest winning times in more than 40 years.

But the clear skies and a tailwind on Monday had the fastest field in the event’s history expecting fast times for the second year in a row.

“Obviously the tailwind played into a lot of the approach,” McClain said. ”You don’t get these conditions every year, so if you’re going to go full send and ‘Carpe Diem,’ this is the year to do it. And that was kind of the mindset.”

Runners may have noticed some changes this year, with the race turning to a crowd scientist for help in spreading things out a little so they don’t face bottlenecks on the narrow streets of the eight cities and towns along the course. And at the start is a new statue of and by marathon pioneer Bobbi Gibb — the first statue on the course honoring a woman.

Jack Fultz, who was serving as grand marshal on the 50th anniversary of his “Run for the Hoses,” said the weather was the “polar opposite” from the day of his 1976 win in temperatures approaching 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius).

“I am just trying to soak it all in, to remember it all,” he said in Hopkinton on Monday before the race. “There are almost are no words to fully describe the kind of experience. You have a dream of a lifetime and all of a sudden it comes true.”

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Associated Press Writer Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ relegation from the Premier League has been officially confirmed, with the club’s eight-year spell in the top flight coming to a miserable conclusion

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been relegated back to the Championship. An entirely avoidable, but utterly predictable conclusion to this part of the club’s story.

A story which started with promises to challenge Manchester City ended with a season-long battle challenging Derby County.

Wolves won’t have the tag of ‘worst ever Premier League team’ around their necks…but their fight against the drop… well you’d scarcely call it a fight. The feeble and meek 3-0 defeat at Leeds United, twinned with West Ham’s goalless draw against Crystal Palace, confirmed the inevitable, but the dye had been cast well before that.

Rob Edwards has inspired better results than his predecessor Vitor Pereira, who left Wolves close to the point of no return by the time he was sacked, at least. But the problems at Molineux go beyond the man in the dugout, even if they are the ones forced to front up.

From ambitious upstarts after their promotion in 2018, Fosun have overseen a period of managed decline.

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From back-to-back finishes in seventh, Wolves have slowly moved down the Premier League table, relying on three worse teams to bail them out in previous years.

The playing squad has been ripped apart summer after summer, with the quality going out of the door never replaced by those coming in, even if they’ve spent heavily on replacements. And after years of circling the drain, they have finally – and deservedly – dropped down it.

Nuno Espirito Santo, the man who engineered the club’s rise from Championship strugglers to European quarter finalists, was the first to go public with his need for more players. He felt that he had taken the players at his disposal as far as he could. The soundbites from those above hinted their ambition was similar, but actions spoke louder than words.

Nuno, ultimately paid the price, before the cycle was repeated with his successor Bruno Lage. The Portuguese actually had Wolves in a position to return to Europe in his first season in charge when he called for reinforcements to get over the line. He was given Hayao Kawabe, Chiquinho and Jeong-Sang bin. And that was before Adama Traore was inexplicably allowed to join Barcelona on a loan deal which had no obligation to become permanent.

Wanderers limped over the finish line, ending the 21/22 campaign in 10th, but with no momentum whatsoever. Lage lasted just two months of the following season, before a managerial search which exposed the naivety at the boardroom level.

Julen Lopetegui was the top target, but initially decided to stay in Spain after his father became unwell. Wolves had no Plan B, so stood still for more than a month, before Lopetegui eventually agreed to join.

The Spaniard’s arrival should have marked the distinct second part of the club’s stay in the Premier League. He masterminded an escape which at one point looked well beyond them and breathed new life into an increasingly frustrated Molineux.

But little did those on the terraces know that the frustration from Lopetegui himself was bubbling over. He felt promises were broken, ambitions curbed and plans changed.

Lopetegui went public, such was his desperation to get himself off a wheel that was going in just one direction.

Gary O’Neil arrived, but only after Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Conor Coady, Nathan Collins and Raul Jimenez left. Within days, Matheus Nunes followed.

O’Neil had an impact, and his first season was a positive one. His reward? Captain Max KIlman, Player of the Season Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence all leaving.

It is almost incomprehensible to list the amount of talent that has departed the club in the last eight years. Particularly when looking at the squad tasked with keeping Wolves up this time around.

Pereira played his part in that with haphazard recruitment, control given to a manager who has never spent an extended period of time at a club – even to the extent that he brought in his own sporting director to work with. That decision in itself shows the kind of upside down thinking that has led Wolves to relegation.

Edwards was hired with fans already knowing their destiny at the end of the season. It took until January 3, for their first win of the season…with only two more following since.

Wolves have managed 24 league goals in 33 games. And just 17 in 16 matches in front of their home fans.

Supporters who have been told their season ticket prices are ‘benchmarked’ against rivals that may be in the same division, but operate on a completely different level as they push for Europe.

The relegation may have been officially confirmed in April, but it’s been pencilled in since well before Christmas…this comes as no shock. But that doesn’t alleviate the trepidation of what could come next.

Take a look at Stoke City, a club who spent 10 years in the top flight before their relegation in 2018. They were relegated with the idea of a quick return. Eight seasons later they have yet to achieve a top-half finish.

Wolves decision makers are adamant that won’t be the case at Molineux. Changes at boardroom level hint that lessons have been learned, but there is understandably a lack of trust.

This must be a reset for Wolves. A chapter in a longer story, rather than the definitive end. But for now, the plot moves to the Championship, they better be ready.

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Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

NEUVIOR Pharmaceuticals started feasibility testing at the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) in York on April 17, supported by a recent funding award from Innovate UK, which will last until April 21.

Varun Cruz, founder of NEUVIOR, said: “ZYLON is about turning early-stage ideas into real, testable data.

“This feasibility work allows us to validate core assumptions in a live lab environment and define a credible path toward more circular pharmaceutical manufacturing.”

The ZYLO programme is focused on recovering material from pharmaceutical manufacturing processes and developing smarter, bio-based packaging materials that could replace harder-to-recycle formats.

It forms part of a wider project, VIONIX ZERO, which aims to reduce waste and lower carbon emissions in pharmaceutical production.

The current trials are exploring bio-derived inputs and de-risking potential approaches that could underpin more circular pharmaceutical manufacturing systems.

Mark Gronnow, Process Development Team Lead at the Biorenewables Development Centre, said: “The BDC is happy to support NEUVIOR on their development journey of an exciting biobased product range.

“Being able to rapidly and flexibly support innovators with facilities and resources is one of our specialisms.”

The work at the BDC will provide the early-stage data needed to inform future development and scale-up plans.

The 15-home development has been given the green light on land next to Montpelier Manor Care Home, off Strait Lane in Stainton, after Middlesbrough Council signed off the revised proposals.

Officer approval of these plans, a year after they were submitted, follows the formal refusal of 22 homes, which was confirmed in the last month – although it was reported a year ago that this affordable housing scheme had been ditched.

Of the 15 bungalows, five will have two beds, eight will be three bed properties and the remaining two will host four beds each.

The proposals will see nine detached properties and six semi-detached properties, which will be linked by their garages. The associated works proposed include the construction of highways, landscaping and drainage works, the officer report details.

The applicant, Eaglescliffe-based Wilson Homes, was evidently confident of approval, as JCBs were already on site, hoardings were up and initial works were undertaken prior to approval being granted.

Along with fencing around some of the site, advertisement on hoardings promises ‘a bespoke development of 15 luxury bungalows, built to an exceptionally high standard’.

Approval of these bungalow plans is contingent on 16 conditions – one of these explains that the development cannot be brought into use until the areas for vehicle parking have been constructed.

On top of these many conditions, approval is also subject to a section 106 agreement – still under negotiation – seeking a financial contribution from the developer of £150,000 towards the provision of affordable homes in an “offsite location” within the town.

Lesser financial requirements as part of the section 106 agreement will see contributions towards the beck improvement scheme, local environmental improvement and a strategic highways contribution. 

In the officer report, the reason for approval describes the proposals as a ‘sustainable development which will assist economic growth in the town’, and planning officers believe that none of the material objections raised during the consultation process will result in a “significantly detrimental impact” on the character of the area, nearby residents, or the community as a whole.

A 34-year-old man accused of stealing more than 100 sets of human remains from a historic Philadelphia-area cemetery appeared in court Friday, where he waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Jonathan Gerlach, of Ephrata, faces nearly 500 charges related to the desecration of Mount Moriah Cemetery. Appearing in a lime green prison jumpsuit with his hair in a bun, Gerlach remained largely silent during the proceedings, FOX 29 reported.

Although two burglary charges were dropped, Gerlach now faces additional counts linked to cemetery burglaries in Lancaster and Luzerne counties.

The investigation into Gerlach began in January after members of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery alerted authorities to widespread grave desecration, NBC News reported.

Prosecutors said detectives conducting surveillance observed Gerlach’s vehicle near the cemetery with bones and skulls visible in the back seat. Gerlach was later seen exiting the grounds carrying a burlap bag and a crowbar, according to the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office.

Following his arrest, investigators searched Gerlach’s home and a storage unit, where they discovered a vast collection of remains, including approximately 100 human skulls, mummified hands, feet and two decomposing torsos.

“They were in various states,” Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse told reporters. “Some of them were hanging, as it were. Some of them were pieced together, some were just skulls on a shelf.”

Investigators also recovered jewelry and a pacemaker believed to have been taken from the graves.

“Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life in that home,” Rouse said during a January press conference. “It is truly, in the most literal sense of the word, horrific. I grieve for those who are upset by this, who are going through this, who are trying to figure out if it is in fact one of their loved ones.”

Family members of those buried at the cemetery, which spans Philadelphia and Delaware counties, attended the hearing on Friday, according to FOX 29.

Judy Prichard McCleary, whose ancestors’ mausoleum was among the 26 sites targeted, expressed her shock at the allegations.

“It just made me sick to my stomach to think anyone would want to do that,” she said. “To be able to sell body parts on the internet just appalls me and I just think it should be stopped.”

Authorities found an additional 100 remains during a search of Gerlach’s home and storage unit in Lancaster County. Among the sites targeted was the Prichard family mausoleum, built in 1915, where five of the nine crypts were tampered with and the remains of a great-great aunt were taken.

“I believe in the afterlife. I don’t believe my relatives were there, I believe their souls are in heaven,” McCleary said, “but I still think it’s disruptive and when you die and buried you should be left alone.”

Following the thefts, Mount Moriah Cemetery officials announced significant security upgrades.

John R. Schmehl Jr., president of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, said the nonprofit was fast-tracking the expansion of its surveillance camera system and repairing several sections of fencing. As of mid-January, the organization had already spent $20,000 on mausoleum repairs and was seeking donations to cover further costs.

A day-long cleanup of the grounds is scheduled for Sunday, April 19, to help restore the site.

Gerlach remains held in Delaware County jail unable to post $1 million bail.

Authorities said the investigation was ongoing as they continued to identify the recovered remains and notify affected families.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a video address released Sunday that Canada’s strong economic ties to the United States were once a strength but are now a weakness that must be corrected.

In the 10-minute address, Carney spoke about his government’s efforts to strengthen the Canadian economy by attracting new investments and signing trade deals with other countries.

“The world is more dangerous and divided,” Carney said. “The U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.

“Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become weaknesses. Weaknesses that we must correct.”

Carney said tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump have affected workers in the auto and steel industries. He added that businesses are holding back investments “restrained by the pall of uncertainty that’s hanging over all of us.”

Many Canadians have also been angered by Trumps comments suggesting Canada become the 51st state.

Carney said he plans to give Canadians regular updates on his government’s efforts to diversify away from the U.S.

“Security can’t be achieved by ignoring the obvious or downplaying the very real threats that we Canadians face,” he said. “I promise you I will never sugarcoat our challenges.”

His remarks brought a rebuke from Trump.

“Canada lives because of the United States,” Trump said after the speech. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

There was no immediate White House reaction Sunday to the address.

Carney’s comments came days after securing a majority government following special election wins and as the opposition Conservatives push him to deliver a U.S. trade deal, which was among his promises in last year’s election.

A review of the current version of the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico is scheduled for July.

In his address, Carney said he wants to attract new investments into Canada, double the size of clean energy capacity and reduce trade barriers within the country. He also emphasized Canada’s increased defense spending, reduction in taxes and efforts to make housing more affordable.

“We have to take care of ourselves because we can’t rely on one foreign partner,” he said. “We can’t control the disruption coming from our neighbors. We can’t control our future on the hope it will suddenly stop.

“We can control what happens here. We can build a stronger country that can withstand disruptions from aboard.”

Carney said simply hoping the “United States will return to normal” is not a feasible strategy.

“Hope isn’t a plan and nostalgia is not a strategy,” he said.

Carney said Canada has “been a great neighbor” standing with the U.S. in conflicts including Afghanistan, plus two World Wars.

“The U.S. has changed and we must respond,” he said. “It’s about taking back control of our security, our borders and our future.”

David Haye and Gemma Collins have been booted out of I’m A Celebrity in a shock double exit, leaving their fellow campmates reeling – and closer to being named King or Queen of the jungle

David Haye and Gemma Collins have been booted out of I’m A Celebrity in a shock double exit.

Fans were stunned to see two of the camp’s biggest personalities leave the ITV jungle show. The pair have both hit the headlines during their time on the show – but for very different reasons.

They were booted out of camp tonight, decided by their fellow campmates and their departure will no doubt change camp considerably. Speaking after his exit, David said: “I’m ok. I’m happy. I’ve had an amazing time, great new friends and lots of experiences. You’ve cranked up the trials and the challenges. Ten days it was fun, I enjoyed it.

“Today and yesterday people started cracking, there was a bit more beef between people. Me and Adam had a bit of back and forth, but the banter, he didn’t really like the banter, he kind of got to the limit he was willing to receive.”

Asked if he pushed it too far, he added: “Probably… I’m an extremist and I can’t help myself. It’s all love, I love him really. He’s a cool guy. It’s all perfect now.”

Gemma had previously described her time on All Stars as “redemption” after she quit days into the first series.

“Going on All Stars is a real moment for me in my career – it’s redemption. To be able to do this again is the greatest honour ever. I am going to be the best campmate and get those stars. None of us will be starving under my watch,” she said.

“I am dreading the whole lot, I don’t think anyone goes into the jungle going ‘woohoo’. It’s not normal to be faced with animals, but I am going in as Gemma Collins. Gemma Collins is a self-made woman. I have been to hell and back to get to where I am today. I am just looking forward to proving to people I can do it.”

David, meanwhile, has caused quite a stir during his time on the show, firstly for comments about calling his girlfriend the “personality of a proper ugly bird”.

In a rant, he said: “Most ugly girls realise they don’t they’re not pretty enough to… they gotta have a personality to banter and to tell jokes and s**t, so people overlook the fact that they’re not aesthetically amazing, straight away. Which is what’s called Ugly Duckling syndrome, where girls are ugly, when they start off, and then they and then they kind of they, they get pretty as they get older. But they still got the personality of when they’re ugly. Does that make sense?”

David also recently came under fire for his comments to Adam Thomas, which exploded even more this evening.

With two of the biggest personalities now go, how will it change the camp for the remainder of the show?

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Jamie Varley, 37, is accused of killing 13-month-old Preston Davey, along with 25 other charges relating to his sexual and physical mistreatment.

Stood alongside him in the dock at Preston Crown Court was his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, who is accused of causing or allowing the death of the child and four other offences.

Both men, of Chandlers Way, Grimsargh, deny all charges.

In the final months of his brief life, the child had been routinely ill-treated, sexually abused and physically assaulted, suffering 40 traumatic injuries, the court heard.

His short life had “more than its share of misfortune”, being put in emergency foster care after his birth, but Preston had been a “perfectly healthy boy” before he was adopted by the defendants in April of 2023.

But he was admitted to hospital with injuries three times in just under four months after being adopted, before his death on July 27, 2023.

Preston Davey (Image: Lancashire Police)

Peter Wright KC, opening the case for the prosecution, told the jury of six women and six men: “This is inevitably a highly emotionally charged case. It’s a terrible case because it involves the death of a very, very young child.

“It is inevitable that it will provoke strong feelings in anyone who hears the details of this case.”

Varley, wearing a cream suit, open necked white shirt and shoulder length hair with blonde streaks, sat beside his co-accused, wearing a green top and jeans, in the dock, yards from Preston’s mother in the public gallery.

Preston had been born on June 16, 2022, and aged nine months in April 2023, placed with the defendants for them to adopt, living at their home on Staining Road, Blackpool.

Less than four months later, at about 6.30pm on July 27, 2023, he was brought to the Accident and Emergency Department of Blackpool Victoria Hospital by the defendants.

He was unconscious and in a state of cardiac arrest, Mr Wright told the court.

Medics tried to revive him but he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

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A post-mortem gave the cause of his death to be acute upper airways obstruction, a result either of a smothering most likely with a hand or soft fabric or by the insertion of an object or objects into his mouth.

Mr Wright continued: “As terrible as it is, this tragedy was not the result of some dreadful yet unforeseen accident, or natural phenomenon.

“The evidence gathered during the investigation into his untimely death revealed a much more sinister pathology.

“We say the evidence demonstrates that he was murdered by one of the people entrusted with his wellbeing; one of his proposed adoptive parents.

“We say the person responsible for killing Preston Davey was the defendant, Jamie Varley.”

“But that was not the only tragedy to befall him when in the care of these defendants,” the prosecutor continued.

“In the final months of his brief life, we say he was routinely ill-treated, sexually abused and physically assaulted.”

A post-mortem showed the child had suffered around 40 injuries over the course of the four months he was in their care, injuries including 30 external bruises, a fracture to his upper left arm and internal bruising to his mouth, throat and other parts of his body.

Varley was mostly responsible, but evidence recovered by detectives implicates both men in sexual assault – and McGowan-Fazakerley, failing to protect him, Mr Wright said.

On the day he died at the time of or shortly before the final fatal assault, Varley had sexually assaulted the baby causing internal injuries, while home alone with the child and his co-accused out at work, it was alleged.

After Varley’s arrest and mobile phone was seized, footage was found that he had recorded earlier that day of the little boy lying on a bed with physical and obvious signs of respiratory arrest, but the defendant did not attempt recovery or seek medical help.

It was only later that both defendants took Preston to hospital, by which time it was too late to save him.

While McGowan-Fazakerley was out at work when Varley fatally assaulted him, he had joint responsibility for caring for the child, had daily contact and should have been aware of what was going on and protected the youngster.

Preston Crown Court (Image: Anthony Moss)

But not only was he aware of the abuse, he participated in it, Mr Wright said.

The prosecutor warned jurors to “steel themselves” as images of the child were shown on screen, the prosecution said, after he had been sexually assaulted.

Varley had also taken a number of images and videos of the abuse, but these were not “happy snaps of family life” – but indecent images, the jury was told.

The defendants appeared to be a happy, stable couple, but that was far from the truth, Mr Wright said.

Varley denies murder, manslaughter, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photo of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo.

McGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.

The trial continues.