A five-year-old boy who was found dead at the home where he lived with his mother "would climb up on everything", a trial has heard.

Dylan Scanlon died on December 31, 2021 at his house on Elm Street, Limeside, and was found with 64 separate injuries to his head and body.

His mother, Claire Scanlon, 38, is on trial charged with one count of murder, with an alternative lesser count of manslaughter, as well as a further alternative lesser count of child cruelty.

She claims that Dylan fell off a ladder the day before he died, which caused his injuries.

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On Monday (June 19) at Minshull Street Crown Court, the jury heard evidence from Dylan's older brother, Shawn, who was questioned in court after an 80-minute police interview he gave on January 4, 2022, was played.

Mr Scanlon said both in the police interview and while giving evidence that his younger brother loved climbing on ladders in the house, including one which was kept in a hallway near the entrance to the loft.

He told the court that decorations for holidays and celebrations were kept in the attic and that Dylan liked to go up there and climb the ladder to do so.

While giving his evidence, he said his first thought when he heard about Dylan's death was that he might have fallen.

Read our coverage of the trial so far

After Mr Scanlon's evidence, the jury was shown a video of his partner Katie Darlington's interview with police, in which she said Dylan "would climb on everything".

She said Dylan was "one of those kids" who would climb up on different things all the time and would often fall, cry for a short period, and then be fine.

The court also heard evidence from a girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who said on the day of Dylan's death, Scanlon told her Dylan might have climbed up the ladder and fallen off before later saying it had definitely happened.

In Mr Scanlon's interview with police, he described how he received a call from his stepfather, Gary Keenan, the father of Dylan, who told him Dylan was dead.

He said his mother stopped taking her anti-depression medication several months before Dylan's death and that her split from Mr Keenan in 2020 had "hurt her a lot" and put her "under a lot of stress".

Hazel Tetlow, Scanlon's former next door neighbour, gave evidence and told the court that the relationship between Scanlon and Mr Keenan had become "stormy" and that after they split, Mr Keenan saw less of Dylan, who looked more "grubby and unkempt" than before.

The trial continues tomorrow.