A brutal father who fractured his 25-day-old baby’s skull in a flash of temper has been jailed for seven years.

Brian Calcutt will be on licence for a further three years under extended sentence after a judge found he could be a danger to other children.

After the 40-year-old was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent last month, it was revealed he had previously assaulted another baby in similar circumstances.

In the latest case, Judge Martin Joy found that Calcutt, of Shortlands Green, Maidstone, struck his son Logan a single blow and then shook him.

“It is plain from all the evidence you had too much to drink,” he said.

“It's plain that nobody could be more vulnerable than a 25-day-old baby and you were in a position of trust.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard the mother, Christine Mannering, had gone to bed at about 9.30pm on September 17 last year, leaving Logan with his father.

She was suffering from post-natal depression at the time and due to have a minor operation.

She was awoken two hours later when Calcutt went into the bedroom with the baby in his arms.

He told her: “Quick, you need to get up. Logan has fallen.”

The baby had a red mark on his forehead. He was taken to Maidstone Hospital and then transferred to Pembury Hospital.

Calcutt, who denied the charge, said he had drunk about three pints of beer that evening.

He said he had been giving his son a bottle and burped him. He claimed the baby was resting on his knees.

The next thing he said he recalled was waking up to see Logan on the floor.

The fracture was described as “quite wide” and ran from the middle of the head to just above the ear. The child spent four days in hospital.

His injury was described during the trial as “significant” and consistent with being in a car crash or dropped from a first-floor window. He has made a full recovery.

“It's plain that nobody could be more vulnerable than a 25-day-old baby and you were in a position of trust" - Judge Martin Joy

Prosecutor Catherine Donnelly said Calcutt was jailed for six months in 1999 for assaulting a four-month-old girl causing actual bodily harm.

She had bruising, black eyes and finger marks around her neck.

Calcutt claimed it was an accident with the baby hitting her head on a stereo unit.

“This demonstrates a striking similarity to the present case,” added Miss Donnelly.