'My right hand started shaking': Police officer's shock at discovery of mummified body of four-year-old boy Hamzah Khan

Amanda Hutton let son starve to death, court told

A police officer who found the mummified body of a four-year-old boy has told a jury he was so shocked that he could not stop his hand shaking.

Acting Sergeant Richard Dove said he was one of a number of officers who visited Amanda Hutton's house in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in September 2011.

He told Bradford Crown Court how the body of Hamzah Khan was discovered under layers of clothing, shoes and blankets in a travel cot in Hutton's bedroom.

The jury has heard that Hamzah had been dead in the cot for almost two years when his remains were found by Acting Sgt Dove.

He told jurors he was visiting the house to search for evidence of child neglect and cruelty.

"I believe I can deal with any situation," he told the court.

"But my right hand started shaking. I had to grab my hand to calm myself down. So I went downstairs."

The officer told the court he made the discovery after entering the bedroom for a second time.

He said: "I felt as though there was something wrong."

He said he was "shocked" when he found Hamzah's body. "I thought is that real? i didn't expect to find a child".

Hutton, 43, denies manslaughter and claims her son died from natural causes.

Prosecutors have told the jury that Hamzah died in December 2009 because he was starved by his mother.

The trial continues.

Additional reporting by PA