THIS is the moment a dad changed his story to police after shaking his baby with so much force he was left permanently brain damaged.

The 23-year-old had been looking after the seven-week-old boy when he became floppy and started bleeding.

He called 999 after the baby went into cardiac arrest – with medics later discovering he had a bleed to the brain.

The tot was left with permanent brain damage and partial vision and may never be able to walk or feed himself without the use of a tube.

The father was jailed for three years last June at Luton Crown Court after being found guilty of GBH.

Documentary 24 Hours in Police Custody on Channel 4 has explored how officers faced a race against time to charge the man after the horror.

In a preview clip, he can be seen talking to police about the moments leading up to the horror in 2017.

One officer states the "biggest problem" is the injuries were caused "very close" to the ambulance being called.

He can be seen nodding as she tells him how he said the baby was with a woman to start with before he took him upstairs away – meaning he was alone with the tot.

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The officer says: "So in that last period of time, you appear to be present with [the] baby at all times unless I've got that mistaken?"

But the man stops nodding and replies: "No I've nipped to the toilet once. That was about 10.50/10.55."

He says he was gone for around a "minute or two" implying the baby was injured in the moments he was away in the loo.

The clip shows a second officer confirming he has never made that claim before, adding: "Convenient".

Police rushed to the home in Harpenden, Beds, on August 9, 2017, to reports the baby was unresponsive.

Emergency services were able to resuscitate the baby at Luton and Dunstable Hospital but his harrowing injuries were revealed.

As well as bleeding on the brain, he also suffered bleeding to the retina of both of his eyes and was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital for specialist care.

'ALARM BELLS'

Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins, who investigated the case, said: “It was concluded that this was not a gentle shake, but a forcible, severe shake, causing the child to suffer permanent brain damage and partial vision.

"The quality and length of his life is likely to be very limited, and it is extremely unlikely that he will ever be able to walk or feed himself without the use of a tube.

“The fact that the man was inconsistent in his accounts of what had happened that night proves that he wasn’t telling the complete truth, and his defensive nature rightly rang alarm bells.

“His actions left this poor defenceless baby with such appalling injuries, which have changed his life forever.

"I am pleased that he has received a custodial sentence for this.”

• 24 Hours in Police Custody will air on Channel 4 on Monday at 9pm

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