A father accused of murdering his 10-year-old daughter tried to save her and begged for an ambulance, only to be told “let it go, she’s dead”, a court heard.

Sara Sharif’s body was found with dozens of injuries at the family home in Woking, Surrey, last year, the Old Bailey was told.

Her father Urfan Sharif, 42, stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle Faisal Malik, 29, denied murder.

Giving evidence, Mr Sharif told jurors he had never bitten, burned or beaten Sara.

Warning: This article contains disturbing details

Naeem Mian KC, for Mr Sharif, told jurors he arrived home to find Sara “limping” on August 8, 2023.

Mr Sharif tried CPR on Sara and pleaded for an ambulance to be called, Mr Mian KC told the court.

“She was told in Urdu or Punjabi, ‘let’s go, she is dead’,” by Ms Batool, Mr Mian KC added.

He also told jurors that disciplining his children with physical punishment was a “last resort” for Mr Sharif.

“Not with a cricket bat as suggested, not with a white pole as suggested, but with a slap,” added Mr Mian KC.

A post-mortem examination found that Sara suffered dozens of injuries, including “probable human bite marks”, an iron burn and scalding from hot water, before she died on 8 August 2023.

The court previously heard Sara was hooded, burned and beaten during more than two years of abuse.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC previously said a blood-stained cricket bat, a hairpin with Sarah’s DNA on it, a metal pole, a belt and a rope were found near the family’s outhouse.

The court also previously heard Mr Sharif, Ms Batool and Mr Malik traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan with other family members on August 9, 2023, the day before Sara’s body was found.

Prosecutors said Sharif called police in Pakistan and admitted killing Sara about an hour after his family’s flight landed in Islamabad.

Jurors were told Mr Sharif’s case was that Ms Batool was responsible for Sara’s death and he made a false confession on the phone and also in a note to protect his wife.

The three defendants, who lived with Sara in Woking before her death, are also accused of causing or allowing the death of a child, which they deny.