PA
A little girl with severe heart problems was beaten so ferociously by her mum and dad her stomach ruptured.
The toddler had already spent eight months in hospital undergoing a serious of operations to save her life when her parents carried out their sickening attacks.
Her dad, Robert Davey, 23, punched the little girl repeatedly and in such a violent manner that he ripped a hole inside her stomach which almost killed her.
The infant also suffered bruising to her face, neck and body, along with two broken ribs and wounds to her hands.
When she was admitted to hospital after Davey's attack, the child's mother, Sarah Vasey, 28, meddled with her oxygen supply.
A judge at Newcastle Crown Court jailed Davey for 12 years and Vasey for five yesterday, saying: "Only the dedicated skill of hospital staff saved her from death."
Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Max Black, from Northumbria Police said: "This is a shocking case of child abuse of a vulnerable toddler who already had severe medical problems.
"This child suffered potentially life threatening injuries which had been deliberately inflicted, through a combination of abuse and neglect, at the hands of this pair who should have been the very people she could rely on to take care of her."