A man is facing jail for killing his toddler son by force-feeding until he "drowned in his food".

The three-year-old was made to lie across his father's lap as the porridge-like mixture of bread and cereal was poured into his mouth from a cup.

Following an Old Bailey trial, the 32-year-old parent, from north-west London, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty by a majority verdict of manslaughter and cruelty to a child.

Prosecutor Simon Denison QC had told the jury that the defendant would slap his son or send him to bed on occasions when he vomited during feeding sessions.

The defendant will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday

On November 27 last year, he called for an ambulance and paramedics arrived to find the child lying on the floor in a nappy, showing no signs of life.

There was a very large amount of vomit that looked like a porridge substance on his face and on his chest and not the floor. It was very difficult to clear his airway because of the amount of porridge-like substance that was in his throat. When CPR was attempted, more of the substance came out. > Mr Denison

He continued: "A post-mortem examination revealed that virtually all sections of his lungs were stuffed with recognisable food material.

"He had aspirated, inhaled, breathed in, a large amount of the porridge-like mix into his lungs so that he had, in effect, drowned in his food."

The defendant was remanded in custody to be sentenced by Mr Justice Singh at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

An NSPCC spokesman said: "It goes without saying that the child concerned died in the most horrific way and at the hands of a man who should have cared for, loved and protected him.

"The fact the father continued to force feed the child even though his distress would have been obvious is heart-breaking and hard to comprehend."