A father plotted a “monstrous” acid attack against his three-year-old son in bid to win custody from his mother, a court has ruled.

The parent, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his child, and five other men were unanimously convicted by a jury of conspiring to throw sulphuric acid with intent to “burn, maim or disfigure” the boy in July 2018 attack.

During the six-week trial at Worcester Crown Court, the jury heard that the youngster screamed “I hurt” over and over after sustaining serious injuries to his face and arm at a Home Bargains store.

Footage then showed the three men calmly making their escape – with one even stopping at the tills to purchase two items.

The Crown alleged that the father, who was jailed for 16 years, was angry at his wife for walking out on him in 2016 and attacked his son in a bid to win more contact with the child by showing that his mother was unfit to care for him.

Jurors deliberated for nine hours before convicting the father, from Wolverhampton but originally from Afghanistan, on Wednesday.

In a statement read as the father was jailed, the boy’s mother said she feared that her estranged husband’s sense of “honour” would drive him to kill her if ever released.