TWO women are behind bars awaiting prison sentences for cruelly abusing a little boy who was beaten with a metal stick, struck on the head with a high heel shoe and shut in a cupboard while they went on a jaunt to Blackpool.

The child's mother, 40, and her close friend, 29, showed no emotion as they were led down to the cells at Bradford Crown Court today following the jury's swift Guilty verdicts on all the charges against them.

They will be sentenced tomorrow morning by Judge Peter Hunt who told them they will be going to jail for "the serious ill-treatment of a defenceless boy."

The Bradford women, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the boy, were each convicted of two charges of cruelty to a person under 16. The younger woman was also found guilty of two counts of unlawfully wounding the child.

During the eight day trial, the jury heard the boy and his sisters describing how he was "whacked and whacked and whacked" with a metal stick while his mother looked on.

One of the girls stretched her arms wide to show the length of the stick used by the younger defendant to beat her brother until he cried and bled.

He was also repeatedly shut in a heavy cupboard upstairs at the family home, including for more than ten hours while his family and their mother's friend went on a trip to Blackpool.

They were gone from 11am until 9.30pm while he was left naked with chocolate, oranges, sweets and water. One of his young sisters told how she could hear her five-year-old brother whispering in the cupboard after he was Sellotaped inside.

The boy was also struck with a high heel shoe causing a gash to the top of his head that the women attempted to mend with Superglue.

The women were arrested in 2014 after doctors at Bradford Royal Infirmary suspected that a cut to the boy's chin and weals and bruising on his back and arm were non-accidental. The jury were shown photographs of his injuries, found by medical experts to have been caused by being struck six times with a metal stick.

The court heard he was referred to the Social Services up to three times while he was at nursery school.

He suffered 15 injuries recorded in the school incident log, between September 2012 and June 2013, including bruising and swelling to his face and head, an injured back and a badly bruised shoulder. In November 2012, the school made a referral to the child protection team but no action was action, with one health visitor describing the little lad as "a happy chatterbox".

After the verdicts, the judge said he wanted time to reflect on the length of the jail sentences that he would be handing down.

He told the women: “The offences of which you have been found convicted involved the serious ill treatment of a young defenceless boy and only immediate prison sentences are appropriate.”

Councillor Val Slater, health and wellbeing portfolio holder on Bradford Council, said: "We welcome the court's verdict.

"The safety of children and young people is a top priority. We hope this sends out a clear message to everyone that the safety of our children is paramount."

MORE TOP STORIES