Airplane 3D scanning technology has been used by the police for first time to prove a mother killed her two-month-old baby.

The scanners, developed by the University of Warwick, were able to detect microscopic injuries suffered by two-month-old Teri-Rae at the hands of her mother, Abigail Palmer.

Palmer, 33, crushed the toddler's chest with such force that she snapped her ribs. However, the detailed scans were able to show she had previously injured her daughter.

She was found guilty of manslaughter and wounding after West Midlands Police used the scanners and Palmer, of Solihull, West Mids, was jailed for 13 years at Birmingham Crown Court.

The trial heard the single-mum, a cocaine user, snapped and attacked her daughter after she was crying for attention.

Teri-Rae died on January 2, 2017 - nine weeks after being born weighing just 4lb 7ozs, but Palmer fractured two of the baby's ribs the day before her death, as well as in late December 2016.

The final attack left her brain starved of oxygen as she struggled to breathe. Her death was initially treated as non-suspicious, but a skeletal examination revealed she had suffered a number of healing and fresh rib fractures.

Detectives turned to micro-CT scanning experts in a bid to get a more detailed picture of the child's injuries as their images are 1,000 times more enhanced. They revealed further tiny hairline fractures to the girl's ribcage.