A woman has gone on trial accused of feeding drugs to a toddler and burning the child with lit cigarettes.

Charlene McGregor, 30, from Glasgow, is also accused of holding the two-year-old down, hitting her and burning her with a hot safety pin. She has also been charged with locking the youngster in a bedroom. Ms McGregor denies the charges and blames a friend, Steven Ellis, for the abuse. The trial, before Sheriff Robert Anthony, continues. Glasgow Sheriff Court heard from witness Elizabeth Stewart who claimed that she saw Ms McGregor give the child part of what looked like a tablet.

Bruised leg

Ms Stewart said Ms McGregor lifted something from the mantlepiece in her home and gave it to the girl after she started screaming that she wanted a bit. The court also heard from Mr Ellis who claimed that he noticed blisters on the child's feet and bruising on her leg. He told the court that Ms McGregor said the blisters had been caused by her boots rubbing against her feet. He also said the child was limping and received no treatment for the blisters.

Under questioning from Ms McGregor's defence counsel, Mr Ellis denied that he had caused the injuries. When asked if he had been convicted of assault before, he admitted that he had been found guilty of a knife attack. The court also heard that he was acquitted of murder in 1996 and had initially been charged with the assaults on the child but that the Crown decided to take no further proceedings against him. Ms McGregor, from Linthouse, Glasgow, denies burning the child's body, arm, legs, ankles, heels and feet to her severe injury in November 2007.

She also pleaded not guilty to striking her on the body and throwing her onto a couch and neglecting her while she was babysitting on various dates between October and November 2007. She is blaming Mr Ellis who she claims carried out the assaults while he was left alone with the child.