Mother jailed for force-feed death

A nurse was jailed for three years today for killing her baby by force-feeding her in the first case of its kind in Britain.

Gloria Dwomoh, 31, was found guilty at the Old Bailey last month of causing or allowing the death of 10-month-old Diamond.

She was said to be obsessed with Diamond's weight and poured liquidised food down her throat with a jug when she was weaning her.

Diamond died in March last year after being taken to a hospital near her home in Waltham Forest, east London.

A post-mortem examination found she died from pneumonia caused by food, including meat and cereals, in her lungs.

The prosecution said Diamond was forced to take her feed from the jug after the spout was placed in her mouth.

Trevor Burke QC, for Dwomoh, said: "She has endured the loss of her child for over a year. She has been punished enough."

He presented the court with a 1,000-signature petition from family and friends pleading for mercy, and asked the judge to impose a suspended sentence.

But the Common Serjeant of London Judge Brian Barker described Dwomoh's actions as a "misguided obsession".

PA