A 24-year-old man accused of deliberately fracturing his baby daughter's skull and breaking her ribs and ankle told a Crown Court jury he was still having nightmares about falling with her in his arms.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is on trial in Bradford accused of four offences of unlawfully and maliciously causing grievous bodily harm to the little girl with intent to do her serious injury.

He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and yesterday said he loved his daughter and had shared looking after her since her birth, repeatedly saying there was “no chance” he would ever intend to hurt her.

The baby, who was under three months old, was taken by her mother and grandmother to Bradford Royal Infirmary on December 28, 2010, and found to have a fractured skull, three fractured ribs and a broken ankle.

She had been left in his charge while the mother and grandmother had gone out, but when they returned the baby had a swelling to her head.

Examinations revealed there had been older injuries other than the skull fracture, which would have been caused by the baby being squeezed and her leg pulled and twisted to injure her ankle.

The father said he had been “over the moon” when his daughter was born. He told the court he had been “too scared” of his partner’s reaction to tell her he had fallen on December 28 while carrying their daughter. He wept as he said he had lost his balance and tripped. He also denied telling his partner to wait before taking her to hospital.

The jury heard how there had been problems in the couple’s relationship, with him claiming he was put down and made to feel useless. He also claimed his partner had hit him, but said he had never raised a hand against her, except to restrain her. Despite their difficulties he told the jury he had still been “madly in love” with his partner.

Prosecutor Matthew Bean accused the father of “trying to paint her (his partner) as a violent person” and said it seemed he was trying to blame others for his daughter’s injuries.

“I’m not trying to blame anyone. I just know it wasn’t me,” said the father.

The trial continues.