Man jailed for ‘waterboarding six-year-old girl and forcing her to run for hours on treadmill'

Garth Gatland will spend 12 years behind bars

Gatland was convicted of two counts of child cruelty (PA)

A man has been jailed for the abuse of two children including waterboarding a six-year-old girl, hitting her with a wooden spoon and forcing her to stand naked in a window.

Garth Gatland, 39, will spend 12 years behind bars for also forcing the girl to run up to four and a half hours on a treadmill "to make sure she slept at night".

He was convicted of two counts of child cruelty at an earlier trial at Cambridge Crown Court.

A 32-year-old woman at the same address was acquitted in May on both counts.

The court heard that Gatland tipped the girl out of bed while she was sleeping on regular occasions and made her stand in stress positions.

The girl was found to have cocaine in her hair, and there were bruises and burns on her back, legs, feet and neck.

A 15-year-old boy was also abused by Gatland. He was regularly assaulted and forced to dispose of and hide drugs.

The abuse allegedly occurred between 2014 and 2016 until an acquaintance of Gatland reported him to the police last October.

Detective Con Chris Down said: "Gatland subjected his victims to a catalogue of sadistic abuse. I hope this sentence will allow the victims to move on with their lives.

"I would encourage anyone who suspects offences have been, or are being committed against children to report their concerns to police, children’s social services or the NSPCC.

"No matter who we are, we all have a responsibility to report child abuse."