Suzanne Holdsworth, 34, had been looking after Kyle Fisher, 2, at her home in Hartlepool, Teesside, last July while his mother went to a nightclub.

Holdsworth inflicted damage to the boy’s brain that was, in the words of one medical expert, equivalent to a “high-velocity traffic accident”, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Holdsworth was remanded in custody pending pre-sentence reports but was told by the judge, Mr Justice Grigson, that she should expect to be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Andrew Robertson, for the prosecution, had told the court that Clare Fisher, 20, had left her son with Holdsworth, a neighbour, so that she could have a night out. Over the next hour Holdsworth had inflicted the serious injuries from which the boy died.

Bruises along the side of his head were later matched to the scallop shape of a stair banister in Holdsworth’s house. The severity of the force used caused swelling of the brain.

Mr Robertson said: “From the bruises we can tell that Kyle must have been held tightly around the neck and shoulders so he was facing the banisters with his head down when it was struck against them.”

Later Holdsworth tried to get Ms Fisher to cover up for her by suggesting that Kyle’s bruising was from a previous stay when the boy had fallen out of bed.

However, Nicholas Todd, a consultant neurosurgeon, said that the child’s injuries were so severe that he would not have been able to stand, talk or grip.

Detective Superintendent Tony Hutchinson, who led the investigation, described Holdsworth as “manipulative”.

He said: “She must have known very quickly that she had inflicted serious damage on Kyle and, while she called for medical assistance, she very quickly began to manipulate the sytem. At the end of the day this was the abuse of a two-year-old defenceless child with such severity as to cause fatal injury.”

The child’s mother said afterwards that her son’s death had plunged the family into a “dark world”. A family statement read: “We have got justice for Kyle, but sadly it will never bring him back to us. He was an angelic, bright little boy, with a wonderful life in front of him.

“You do not expect your children to die before you, and with his death our whole lives were changed and thrown into turmoil and darkness. It plunged us into a world that was surreal. We were left helpless. We simply could not believe what had happened.

“Even now, we find it hard to accept that this wonderful little boy, who brought such magic and joy into everyone’s lives, has gone. Words cannot express what we feel for Holdsworth.”

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