A GRAVESEND man submitted a month-old baby to a "frenzied and brutal" attack, a court has heard.

Nathan Rawling, aged 36, left the child with 26 rib fractures, two fractured collar bones and a broken right arm following the assault on the morning of December 1, 2011, Maidstone Crown Court was told today.

The baby was admitted to Darent Valley Hospital just after 7am and had to be resuscitated shortly after having gone into cardiac and pulmonary arrest caused partly by two punctured lungs, the jury heard.

Despite not knowing how to, Rawling had performed CPR on the 31-day-old child earlier that morning after it twice "became blue", the jury of six women and six men were told.

Prosecutor John O'Higgins said: "It is the prosecution's case the baby was subjected to a frenzied, brutal and repeated assault by Nathan Rawling which can only have been done with the intention of causing serious harm.

"It may be he tried to save the baby by performing CPR on it but if so, it is because moments earlier he had nearly killed it."

The child needed 10 minutes of cardiac massage to be revived, the court was told.

Mr O'Higgins paraphrased a statement the defendant gave to police after he was arrested just before midday that morning.

He said: "It is not what I wanted for the baby.

"I don't feel these injuries have been done intentionally or with malice or with some sort of sick pleasure that I may have had."

Rawling, of St Gregory's Crescent at the time of the incident, denies one charge of causing GBH with intent.

The trial continues.