A FATHER subjected his eight-year-old son to several months of cruelty, including dunking his head in the toilet and flushing it, and tying him up with electrical tape at night.

The man, from Trowbridge, also made him sleep on a mattress on the floor, tied the door handle of the bathroom at night so he could not use it, and on one occasion slapped him so hard he fell against the wall.

Swindon Crown Court heard on Thursday that the defendant had accused his son of breaking things around the house, and carried out the cruel acts as punishment.

Other instances included slapping him around the face, kicking the boy, kneeling on his knees and dragging him around the house.

The boy said he was “scared” to live with his dad and felt “great and excited” when he could go and visit family.

The cycle of abuse was eventually stopped when his mum, who was separated from his father, came to collect him and noticed that her son had the injuries.

But he was not removed from the house until the following day and when his grandmother took him to see a specialist the day after that, 17 injuries were found.

The defendant, who was visibly upset in the dock throughout much of the hearing, admitted to police officers that he had slapped his son on one occasion.

The case had been heading for trial last year before he changed his plea from not guilty to guilty at a pre-trial hearing.

The man, who cannot be identified because doing so would identify his son, whose identity is protected by law, was jailed for 15 months.

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His defence counsel, John Dyer, had pleaded with the judge to grant a suspended custodial sentence rather than an immediate term of imprisonment.

He said that his client was at his “wit’s end” with his son’s alleged behaviour, and that he was struggling to look after his children while living with mental health conditions.

He described the incident with the toilet as a “sudden loss of control”.

Mr Dyer continued to say that the defendant, who had GP diagnoses of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, had stopped taking his anti-depressants because he thought it might make it easier to manage the boy.

He had tried to cry out for help, he said, but that stopping his anti-depressants “might have contributed to the loss of control and that he did not shout loud enough that he could not cope”.

A psychiatric report found that the defendant “hates himself for what has happened”.

Mr Dyer concluded by saying that whilst the defendant had been expecting to go to jail and was “petrified”, him going to jail would also affect his new partner, arguing: “[This is] entirely a matter for the court, this is custody, [but] it is within the range which might be suspended.”

Sentencing, Judge Jason Taylor QC said the defendant’s “remorse is evident to me today”, and that immediate imprisonment was not required to protect the public.

He continued: “However, this was offending involving multiple incidents over several months, including acts of degradation on your 8-year-old son. It is simply too serious for any sentence other than immediate custody.”

He jailed the defendant for 15 months, of which he will serve half before he is eligible for release on licence.

Addressing the victim and his mother, who watched on via a video link, Judge Taylor said to the child: “It’s all over now.”