A MAN who broke two ribs and the collarbone of a baby has been jailed.

Jamie Benjamin Tessyman, 22, who was not the baby’s father, inflicted the injuries while its mother was preparing its bottle, said Laura Addy, prosecuting.

When the infant started crying its mother asked him to look after it for the brief time she was in the kitchen, heard York Crown Court.

While she was there, she heard her baby scream. X-rays later revealed its collarbone and two ribs were broken.

Tessyman claimed the baby had fallen, but a consultant paediatrician later declared the injuries could not be caused by accident, but could only have been caused by significant pressure, such as by someone gripping the baby too hard.

Defence solicitor advocate Graham Parkin said Tessyman had an “appalling” background and mental health problems and was sorry for his actions. He had not intended to harm the baby.

Tessyman, of Orchard Way, Thorpe Willoughby, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and was jailed for 12 months.

Judge Andrew Stubbs QC told him: “You must have known what you had done…. Rather than seeking medical treatment and revealing what you had done immediately, you tried to cover it up.”

Ms Addy told him Tessyman’s tale about an accidental fall led to a delay in some hours before the baby received medical treatment.

The baby was in hospital for some time before doctors decided it had recovered sufficiently to be allowed to leave.

“I would be failing in my public duty if I didn’t send you to custody immediately,” the judge told Tessyman.

Although the baby appeared to have made a full physical recovery, the injuries had had a major impact upon both it and its mother’s life, he said.