A CHILD aged four suffered serious facial burns after being asked to make her mother a cup of tea, a court heard.

The girl needed treatment at a specialist burns unit after scalding herself with boiling water when she dropped the kettle, it was alleged.

At the time, the child had been balancing on top of a toy trolley on wheels in the kitchen of her mother's Southampton council house.

Jurors were told how the girl did not receive medical treatment for several hours, by which time blisters had appeared, some of which had been popped by her mother.

Her mother told staff at Southampton General Hospital the child was "normally very careful" when making hot drinks.

Southampton Crown Court heard how doctors were concerned about the welfare of the child and her baby sister, both of whom smelled and were dirty.

Child health expert Dr Julia Surridge said the baby had scratch marks on her chin and neck, a healing wound on her foot, a skin infection around the groin and nappy rash.

Her sister was found to have extensive burns to the left side of her face, ear and arm, skin peeling off her ear and a swollen left eye.

The court heard how the victim's mother had bathed the burns with cold water between 10pm and 10.30pm. But the child did not arrive at casualty until nearly 4am.

Police subsequently carried out an examination of the family home in the eastern area of Southampton.

Jurors were shown a 15-minute video of the property which showed: Cigarette butts, matches, bird droppings and a nappy on the floor and no food in the house.

When arrested the mother, now aged 24, said she had been "struggling to cope" and admitted the bath had not been used for more than a week.

The mother, who cannot be named to protect her daughter's identities, denies three charges of cruelty to a child under the Children and Young Person's Act of 1933.

All offences are alleged to have occurred in January and February.

Proceeding.