A hit and run driver who ran over a 13-month old boy on a zebra crossing has been jailed for 18 months.

Mantas Kaupas of Sherrard Road, Forest Gate went through a red light as he sped off after hitting the baby in his buggy while the tot’s parents were on the crossing at the junction of Dunbar Road and Upton Lane.

Paramedics treated the little one for head injuries before taking him to the Royal London Hospital where he stayed for a week following the crash in May 2017.

Police found the white BMW Kaupas was travelling in abandoned less than a mile away from Upton Lane.

The 37-year-old denied it when he was arrested the following day claiming he had been in all that night.

Det Cons Adam Daisley, from the north-east command unit, said: “It is only a matter of luck that the child did not suffer more serious injuries.

“Kaupas’s driving was unacceptable and the fact that he drove away shows his disdain at what he did.”

Kaupas was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday after being convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was banned from driving for 33 months.