A MAN who shook his nine-week-old baby so hard he broke ten of his ribs has been jailed for ten years.

James Lewis, 24, of Carters Close, Carterton, punched the dock in anger as he was sentenced at Oxford Crown Crown on Friday.

And it was a similar outburst of rage in which Lewis shook his baby son, breaking his bones and leaving him with potentially life-long sight problems.

Sentencing, Judge Peter Ross told the court that December 15, 2013, had started like any other Saturday at Lewis's partner's home where he had been staying at weekends.

He cooked breakfast for them and their son, then she left the house.

Some 15 minutes later she got a call from Lewis saying their child had stopped breathing.

When she got home, the baby was lying on their bed, not crying, just making a grunting sound. When she tried to move his arm he screamed in pain.

In an ambulance to the hospital she began to notice marks: a cut on his tongue and a swollen lip.

She and the paramedics repeatedly asked Lewis what has happened and he told them he discovered their son not breathing and shook him gently to try and revive him.

It was only when doctors performed scans they discovered he had bleeds on his brain, haemorrhages to his retinas and ten fractured ribs.

Because Lewis refused to admit he had caused the injuries, doctors were forced to say that neither parent could be alone with the baby.

Judge Ross said he could only imagine the agony that period must have been for Lewis's partner.

When the couple were alone, she asked Lewis to tell her the truth, to which he replied: "Just let the police arrest me and take me to court", then walked out of the hospital.

Lewis was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent, but continued to deny it, forcing the case to go to trial at Oxford Crown Court.

The jury convicted him of the charge in July 2014.

Recalling that trial, Judge Ross said: "I don't think any of us will forget Dr Chapman standing in the witness box with his hands up demonstrating the degree of force required to cause those fractures.

"The degree of compression you applied to his chest was horrific.

"Those injuries were caused by you in a terrible outbreak of rage. You lost all control."

"Mercifully", he added, Lewis's son did not seem to have sustained lasting brain injuries; as for his eyesight it was too early to say.

Judge Ross told Lewis that in considering his sentence he had taken into account that Lewis had a conviction for throttling a previous partner – another domestic attack.

He said Lewis presented a "significant risk" to future partners and to children, and sentenced him to ten years in prison with a three-year extended licence period.