A father dangled his baby out of the window of a 15th-floor apartment so that he could get 1,000 likes on Facebook.

The Algerian dad had posted a video of the child being held by just his shirt 150 feet above the street below with the caption, '1,000 likes or I will drop him'.

When people picked up on the shocking clip, he was reported to the authorities in the capital Algiers and yesterday he was sentenced to two years in prison.

The father uploaded this video showing him holding his son out of a 15th-floor apartment with the caption, '1,000 likes or I will drop him'

Facebook users demanded the father, believed to be from the city of Bab Ezzouar, was tried on child abuse charges, according to Al Arabiya.

Prosecutors agreed and took him to court where it transpired he had carried out the horrendous stunt simply to gain a high number of views and likes on the social media site.

Media activist Dalila Belkheir said the man was 'not a father but a terrorist' while rights activist Ali Ben Jeddou said told Albawaba: 'This man should be brought to justice and punished in the most severe way'.

Reacting to the post online, one user said: 'What is most striking is that it appears that the father is carrying his son with his left hand while using his right hand to take the picture, this means the picture is more important than the child's life.'

Psychologist Dr Noura Rahmani told The New Arab the actions could not and should not be tolerated in Algeria, adding that the father may not have been aware he was committing a crime.