A 24-year-old Suffolk man accused of shaking a baby, resulting in the child suffering brain damage and being registered blind, has been jailed for two years.

Mark Spike was looking after the child when he “momentarily lost control” and caused “shaking” injuries to the child’s brain, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Spike of Beaverbrook Road, Newmarket denied a charge of unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on the child and was found guilty by a 10-2 majority verdict.

David Wilson, prosecuting, claimed during the trial that Spike caused the child’s injuries during “a momentary loss of control as a result of frustration or irritation”.

“It may have lasted only seconds but that would be long enough”, he said.

He said Spike had made a confession but had told the court it wasn’t true.

Detective Inspector Adrian Randall, lead on child abuse investigations in the west of the county, said: “This trial has taken some time to get to court, with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service gathering evidence from national experts around the UK.

“One Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist concluded the appearance of the injury was highly suggestive of acceleration-deceleration that could occur with forceful shaking, and that the force required to produce these injuries would be far more than would be expected during normal play or rousing manoeuvres. The consultant concluded that these were the worst injuries seen in their career.

“Sadly the child may never fully recover from the injuries sustained, and it isn’t clear how the brain injury will affect them in future.”