'Delightful' boy, 2, who 'lit up lives' before being brutally killed at hands of callous dad

The foster carer of a baby boy who was brutally murdered by his own dad has remembered the 'delightful' child who 'lit up their lives'.

Little Damion Hardcastle was found at a flat in Blackpool covered in bruises and in a state of cardiac arrest on August 19, 2023. A court has now heard harrowing details of the horrific injuries the tot endured at the hands of his dad Daniel Hardcastle.

Hardcastle, who has been convicted of murder, claimed that the toddler had fallen and banged his head, but medical evidence later proved that Damion’s death was caused by a violent assault, LancsLive reports.

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Damion had been placed in the care of his father following a 12 month assessment period. The little boy had been removed from his mother at 10 months old and placed with foster parents, but following a DNA test which confirmed he was the father, Hardcastle applied for custody.

The pair moved to a flat in Central Drive, Blackpool, with support from family members, social workers and a mental health charity Dad Matters. Damion was allocated a nursery place and there was a playgroup across the road.

However in the weeks before Damion died, Hardcastle's mum was taken into hospital and the father began drinking. On several occasions he visited local shops to buy alcohol, leaving his son alone in the flat.

On August 19, 2023, Hardcastle called 999 reporting his son had fallen on a coffee table while playing. Police and paramedics rushed to the flat bit were instantly sceptical about the account Hardcastle gave. Attempts had been made to clean blood from the floor and bloodstained clothes and bedding had been placed in bin bags and the washing