A mother who is accused of deliberately poisoning her toddler with salt had searched online for how much of the substance an 18-month-old could eat, a court heard.

The woman, in her late twenties, cannot be named because of a court order imposed to protect the identity of her 18-month-old daughter.

Truro Crown Court heard that the woman from the St Austell area of Cornwall administered the child with between 21 and 24 grams of salt.

Prosecuting barrister Peter Coombe told the jury such a quantity of salt would have had to have been administered intentionally and that no child could digest that amount without it being disguised in food or drink.

He said the woman had exchanged messages with friends when she spoke of her daughter being unwell and sent a string of photos of her.

He added: “The defendant’s search history shows that she carried out a search on her phone the day before about what the appropriate amount of salt for an 18-month child is, but said she did so because her lips were white and she had nephews whose lips went white when they had too much salt.

"However this was not something she mentioned on the night she went to hospital or the day before when she went to her GP."