A FORMER Barrow couple who lied about knowing ‘who battered a little boy black and blue’ have been jailed.

Nathan Moscrop, 28, and Rebecca Leigh O’Brien, 26, both admitted child cruelty after they failed to take the child for medical help when they saw injuries to his face.

Preston Crown Court heard the victim suffered 20 separate horrific bruises.

But neither defendant admitted inflicting the blows.

Preston Crown Court heard the little boy’s injuries included bruising to his face and ear as if he had suffered a ‘boxer’s punch’.

The couple, who have since separated, were in breach of bail conditions to stay away from each other when the boy was attacked, the court heard.

Judge Graham Knowles, sentencing, said: “You two know who battered this little boy black and blue.

“Either you did it Rebecca O’Brien, or you knew Nathan Moscrop did it, or you Nathan Moscrop did it or knew Rebecca O’Brien did it.

“You colluded to conceal the truth, not caring at all for the boy.

“You both should have sought immediate medical attention for him and should have protected him from the other.”

In a moving victim impact statement, the boy’s father told the court that since his son was attacked he did not like any form of physical contact and would not let his parents cuddle him.

The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has suffered night terrors and had to cry himself back to sleep as he would not let his family console him.

Neither Moscrop or O’Brien displayed any emotion as the court heard of the ongoing trauma suffered by the child.

But the boy’s father told the court he had broken down in tears in a supermarket and had been signed off work with stress due to what had happened to his son.

He said: “All we can do is continue to love, support and cherish him in order to protect him for the rest of his childhood and beyond.”

The court heard O’Brien, formerly of Durham Street, Barrow has stopped using alcohol as a coping mechanism, and has been working.

She admitted she had deliberately flouted promises she had made to Children’s Services to stay away from Moscrop.

Moscrop, of Gloucester Street, Barrow had been at a low point in his life after receiving a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, the court heard.

They were both jailed for nine months.

Judge Knowles said: “The truth you hid was who injured the boy and how. The twists and turns in your interviews shed no light on which of you injured him. The most basic humility cried out for you to tell the truth. You conspired to deceive and you let him suffer.” O’Brien broke down in tears as she was led to the cells to begin her prison sentence.