Lucy Letby ‘told police’ she found it ‘quite hard’ when alleged victim clung on for hours

A nurse accused of multiple baby murders told police she found it “quite hard” when one of her alleged victims lived for several hours after his catastrophic collapse. The newborn boy stopped breathing without warning just days after his premature birth, weighing just 800 grams, at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015.

The infant, referred to as Child C, is one of seven babies allegedly killed by 32-year-old Lucy Letby, who is also said to have attempted to murder 10 others at the hospital’s neo-natal unit.

Ms Letby, who denies the charges, is said to have caused the collapse of Child C by inserting air into the boy’s stomach via a nasogastric tube.

Jurors at Manchester Crown Court have heard medics failed to revive him and that “token resuscitation” took place until the arrival of a Church of England vicar to baptise the boy and a Catholic priest to perform a blessing.

However, signs of life reappeared during the wait for the ministers with “occasional gasps of breathing” and “feeble heart beats” noted as the parents cuddled their son.

More to follow…