A MAN who attacked a baby, causing ‘catastrophic’ injuries which left the child critically ill in intensive care, has been jailed.

Jamie Davies is believed to have shaken the infant violently, causing life-changing damage, prosecutor Clare Wilks told Newport Crown Court.

The child’s mother, in a victim impact statement, described the assault and its aftermath as “horrific”.

Davies, 31, from Blaenau Gwent, admitted causing the baby, who cannot be named for legal reasons, grievous bodily harm. The assault happened in 2015.

The child is no longer in intensive care.

It was the opinion of medical experts, Miss Wilks said, that the infant’s injuries “were not caused by normal handling but by some degree of violence”.

But they also admitted the damage to the tot could have been the result of a “momentary loss of control”.

The court heard that Davies told a Probation Service officer, who was preparing his pre-sentence report, that he “vehemently denied” intending to cause the baby deliberate harm and that he had been advised by his legal team to plead guilty.

Miss Wilks said he had no previous convictions.

Andrew Taylor, mitigating, told Judge Daniel Williams of the defendant’s remorse: “Whatever sentence you pass today, this will remain with him for the rest of his natural days. This is something he is going to have to live with for the rest of his life.”

The judge told Davies: “It seems as though you shook the baby violently, resulting in terrible injuries.

"It is heart-breaking to see the photographs of the child and the ongoing affect your assault on the infant has had.” He said the defendant's victim "could not have been more vulnerable".

Judge Williams jailed Davies for two years and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge upon his release from prison.