A BOYFRIEND accused of beating a his girlfriend's little boy to death said his dog was to blame for causing "catastrophic" injuries to the toddler, reports The Sun.

Sean Buckley, 28, said one of his pets "bumped into" 17-month-old Finley Thomas and knocked him down a flight of stairs. Buckley is accused of murdering little Finley in a "deliberate and vicious attack" and which resulted in "catastrophic head injuries".

Finley – who is the son of Buckley’s partner Chloe Thomas – was pronounced dead in hospital after suffering multiple injuries including 23 fractured ribs, Cardiff Crown Court was told.

The court had previously heard toxicology tests showed little Finley had cocaine and cannabis in his system when he died, and that his mum was hooked on illegal drugs.

The jury heard extracts from Buckley’s police interview, when he told officers how he believed Finley died. Buckley told detectives: "The dog bumped into Finley and hit him down the stairs off his feet. He got up and started crying. His nose was bleeding and it wouldn’t stop so I told Chloe to keep his nose back. He didn’t fall very hard. He fell on the stairs at the bottom, he landed and got up. He was saying 'daddy, daddy'."

Buckley said he would’ve taken the boy to hospital "if it was my child", but left the decision up to Finley’s mother, 25-year-old Thomas.

He added: "His nose bleed stopped. He was his normal self and he was cwtchy with his mother. He just got up and started playing with the dogs. I put my hands up and put them on the Bible, I haven’t done anything to Finley whatsoever."

Buckley admitted taking cocaine, diazepam, and smoking cannabis around Finley, after traces of all three drugs were found in the toddler’s body.

The court previously heard Finley died after suffering a "blunt force head injury" at his home.

The prosecution showed the jury meshing from the seat of a white garden chair, which they say matches up with a pattern of bruising found on Finley’s scalp.

The prosecution also allege Buckley physically abused Finley in the weeks leading up to his death, with Thomas covering up her boyfriend’s actions because she was "infatuated" with him.

Buckley denies murder. He and girlfriend Thomas, both of Tonypandy, Rhondda, both deny cruelty to a young person under 16.

The trial, expected to last five weeks, continues.