The parents of a York baby, whose death was described as "perhaps a dark and dreadful secret", walked free from court today after being dramatically cleared by a judge.

Lauren Gales was five weeks old when she died with brain damage, fractured ribs, and signs that she had been shaken.

Leeds Crown Court heard today that both her parents were heroin users.

The mother, Lucy Gales, 19, was charged with her manslaughter and both she and the father, Anthony Lee Bird, 24, were charged with child cruelty.

But on the day they were to have stood trial, the prosecution said it could not prove who caused which injuries to the necessary standard of proof.

"Only two people know precisely what happened on the night of the third, going into the fourth of April," said Peter Johnson, prosecuting. "That is perhaps a dark and dreadful secret which will be maintained by them."

He was talking about Lauren's parents, whom he described as the only suspects in the case.

"It is a secret the prosecution have tried to unravel." He added that the prosecution could not do so to the right standard of proof.

"I am afraid reluctantly my duty is to offer no evidence."

High Court judge, Mr Justice Hunt, sitting at Leeds Crown Court, recorded formal not guilty verdicts against the charges of child cruelty. The prosecution had earlier dropped the manslaughter charge.

The judge said it was a tragic case, and pointed out that the parents were heroin users.

The couple, who come from Burton Stone Lane, Clifton, left court in silence. They had always maintained their innocence.

Outside the court, Mr Bird called for the couple to be left alone.

He said: "We have been waiting a year for this trial to start and we have had nothing but trouble since it began. People can think what they want, but they don't know the facts, they don't know what happened."

He said neither he nor his girlfriend killed Lauren.

Mr Bird said the couple had experienced hassle from other people since word got out of the allegations against them.

In court, Mr Justice Hunt said the situation as the prosecution had outlined it was "not an unknown situation".

The action of the prosecution in offering no evidence and his own in recording formal not guilty verdicts were not done "with enthusiasm but it is inevitable".

Earlier, Mr Johnson said the prosecution could not say with certainty when the injuries were sustained, and therefore could not prove their allegation that Lauren had not had medical assistance quickly enough.

"It is quite clear there is no criticism whatsoever made of the medical staff who attended Lauren. There is no suggestion that the treatment which was afforded to that five-week-old girl, could have been any better or saved her life", said Mr Johnson.

Updated: 15:04 Tuesday, June 19, 2001