A BABYSITTER squeezed an 18-month-old baby's throat so tight he burst his blood vessels, a court heard yesterday.

John Cummings, 23, attacked the child at his home while the baby's mother went out for the night with friends.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how the baby was left with bruising to his face, neck and back.

The inside of his lip was torn during the "protracted" attack at the house in County Durham.

The court heard how the child had a bottle rammed into his mouth before he was almost strangled.

Prosecutor Anne Richardson said the mother had gone out for the night with friends and received a phone call at the pub telling her to return home because the boy's mouth was full of blood.

She said: "She found the baby lying on the settee on his back, shaking and he could not get his breath. He also had bruising on his back which the doctor said was typical finger tip pressure."

Cummings, who punched a neighbour who came to help, told the mother that the child had been coughing and he had patted him on the back.

He was arrested at his home in Cherry Park, Brandon, Durham, where he was found hiding in a bedroom.

Cummings denied the attack, but a jury found him guilty of cruelty to a child.

He admitted assaulting the neighbour.

Judge Richard Lowden jailed him for 18 months.

Any future contact Cummings has with children will be closely monitored by social services.