A couple have been jailed for using the woman’s 12-year-old daughter as a “surrogate mother” because she was unable to have children of her own.

The girl was repeatedly raped by her step father until she conceived and gave birth to a baby which has now been taken into care a court heard.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted two charges of rape and was jailed for 18 years at Warwick Crown Court.

The girl's mother was jailed for six years after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rape and child cruelty.

Judge Andrew Lockhart QC told the couple in their 30s from south Warwickshire: "You planned to have a child together, but were told it was not possible.

"You both then decided that one way forward would be for her to become pregnant and for you to raise the child.

"That was a wicked thing to do. It had no regard for her age or for the future damage it would do, or for her welfare or the welfare of any child that might be born.

"This was not just rape, but rape with the intention of ensuring the pregnancy of a 12-year-old child."

The court heard the girl's mother had "actively encouraged her to become pregnant" after she began a relationship with the man after meeting him online.