A man has admitted violent assaults on a four-year-old boy and his toddler brother when he was babysitting them.
Thomas Leishman, from Coatbridge, repeatedly kicked and struck the boys over a six-month period, the High Court in Glasgow heard.
The judge heard that Leishman, 26, inflicted 44 injuries on the four-year-old boy and locked the younger child in a cupboard.
Sentence was deferred until next month, pending reports on Leishman.
The court was told that Leishman had twisted the older boy's leg so brutally it fractured.
He beat him up to such an extent his bladder and liver were ruptured and he kicked the boy in the groin. The child needed surgery at Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow.
Kept in cupboard
Judge Rita Rae was told that a doctor called the injuries some of the worst she had ever seen on a child.
His brother, who was aged between 18 months and two at the time, also suffered head and body injuries.
The younger boy had been locked in a cupboard, the court heard.
A witness described how she had heard Leishman shouting in a "horrendous" way and police were told by the four-year-old that "Tam was always hitting us".
Leishman was remanded in custody.
