A father has been found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in prison for plotting an acid attack on his three-year-old son amid a custody battle with his ex-wife.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted unanimously by a jury today at Worcester Crown Court in the UK following a six-week trial, the court confirmed to CNN.

The jury, which deliberated for nine hours, convicted the man and five co-conspirators of plotting to spray sulfuric acid in the child's face with the intention to "burn, maim or disfigure."

A UK father has been sentenced to 16 years in jail over a plot to attack his three-year-old son with acid amid an ongoing custody battle with his ex-wife. (PA/AAP)

Jurors were told that the father, 40, a taxi driver from Wolverhampton in central England but originally from Afghanistan, enlisted the help of his co-conspirators in order to attack his son in a bid to gain increased custody by depicting the child's mother as incapable of providing adequate care, the UK's Press Association reported.

The man's wife left him in 2016, taking their three children with her, the court was told.

Jonathan Rees QC, prosecuting, said the father was the "driving force" behind the July 2018 attack, and described his victim as "defenseless."

A court was told the father, who can not be identified, enlisted the help of five co-conspirators to attack the young boy. (PA/AAP)

"This case concerns a cowardly attack on a defenseless three-year-old boy in which he was squirted with a solution of sulfuric acid," he said.

"At the time of the attack, the little boy was with his mother and his older brother and sister. The family had been shopping for a birthday present."

The victim's mother said in a statement that she found it "extremely hard to accept" that her child had been attacked in such a way by his father, but expressed joy over the verdict.

The father (pictured in tan-coloured shirt), who cannot be identified for legal reasons, came up with the plot in a bid to gain increased custody by depicting the child's mother as incapable of providing adequate care for him. (PA/AAP)

"I hope this case and sentence makes people consider the consequences before even thinking about acting in such a monstrous way," she said, according to a police statement.

"It is a family's life that has been ruined and a young boy that has been scarred for life."

Superintendent Damian Pettit described the attack as "horrific" and said the boy's scars "will prove a constant reminder of that awful day."

He nevertheless welcomed the verdict and noted that the perpetrators will spend a combined total of 78 years in prison.

Images of the co-conspirators tended to court also showed them with acid burns to their hands as a result of the attack, and also while brandishing weapons. (PA/AAP)

"It is hard for the family, the officers, and the community to comprehend how a family member could organize an attack of this nature on such a young child," he said in a statement.

"We hope that now the perpetrators are behind bars, the family can start to focus on the future."

The attack, which took place in the Home Bargains store in the English city of Worcester, left the boy with serious burns to his face and arms.

The five co-conspirators who were also sentenced to jail terms were: (top row L-R) Adam Cech, Norbert Pulko, Jabar Paktia, (bottom row L-R) Saied Hussini and Jan Dudi (PA/AAP)

The court heard that the boy repeatedly screamed "I hurt" following the attack. He has since made a "good recovery" and is in the care of his mother.

The five convicted co-conspirators were named as Adam Cech, Jan Dudi, Norbert Pulko, Jabar Paktia and Saied Hussini.

Cech, Dudi, Pulko and Paktia were each sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Hussini was sentenced to 14 years, police confirmed.