Two women have been jailed at Bradford Crown Court for locking a boy in a cupboard - while they went on on a day trip to the seaside.
A mother and her friend who locked a "defenceless'' young boy in a cupboard while they went on a day trip to the seaside have been jailed for a catalogue of "barbaric and vile'' assaults.
The boy, who was aged four and five at the time of the cruelty, was attacked with a metal stick and beaten with a shoe, causing a head wound that was glued together by the women.
The women, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were described as "wilful and callous'' as they were jailed at Bradford Crown Court.
Judge Peter Hunt said the 40-year-old mother "chose to look the other way'', doing nothing to stop the cruelty of her friend, 29, who carried out the assaults.
Speaking to the child's mother, Judge Hunt said: "As his mother, you were meant to be responsible with the duty to protect this child.
Both women were convicted of two counts of child cruelty, while the 29-year-old was also found guilty of two counts of unlawful wounding.
Judge Hunt sentenced the mother to two-and-a-half years in prison. Her friend received a four-year jail term.
The trial heard how the friend forced the boy, who had been stripped of his clothes, into a cupboard and left him "stranded, helpless'' for several hours while the women, and his sisters, went on a day trip to the seaside.
On another occasion, the woman used "considerable violence'', repeatedly striking the boy with a metal stick or rod, causing up to six wounds which required stitches at hospital.
In a separate attack, she struck the boy on the top of his head with the heel of her shoe, causing a wound. She then applied glue to the wound in an attempt to cover up what had happened.
Judge Hunt said the boys' sisters witnessed the cruelty and were likely to have suffered psychological harm as a result. One sister was blamed by the women for one of the assaults.
In mitigation, barristers for both women said they had lost their good characters and their jobs as a result of their convictions, while the mother had "lost everything'', including her children and her family.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Mick Ryan, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "These were appalling crimes committed against an innocent young boy who had no means of defending himself from people he knew and trusted.