A DAD from East Lancashire lost his temper with his five-week-old baby while changing him and broke his legs, a court heard.

Judge Sara Dodd, sitting at Burnley Crown Court, warned the father he could be facing a jail sentence over the incident in Bacup.

The defendant, 25, from Haslingden, had originally faced three charges, one of which was inflicting grievous bodily harm on his son.

He was also accused of two offences of cruelty to a child. One covered the wilful assaulting or ill-treatment of the child and the second was a neglect allegation, covering the time during which he should have taken the baby for medical treatment.

The man pleaded guilty to the ill-treatment offence, but denied the other two, and these pleas were ruled to be acceptable to the prosecution.

Prosecutor Stephen Parker said: "The defendant, by his plea, has accepted causing fractures to his son's legs by grabbing hold of him using excessive force."

He told the court that the circumstances of the assault were incorporated into the offence the defendant had admitted and the matters surrounding not seeking medical attention would be mentioned at sentence.

Mr Parker said the father told police he knew something "was not right" as the baby was crying in a way he had never done before.

Barbara Webster, defending, said her client accepted he had lost his temper while changing the baby but had not appreciated the extent of his injuries at the time.

Remanding the father on bail for sentence on February 7 at Preston Crown Court and ordering a probation report, Judge Dodd said all sentencing options, including custody would be available at the next hearing.