A father who put his two-year-old daughter's life at risk by living in a filthy flat littered with used needles has been jailed for six months.

The 19-year-old, who cannot be named, was imprisoned after a judge condemned conditions at his home in Hastings as "appalling".

Police who swooped on the flat last July found furniture upended and the floor littered with rubbish and debris.

Mould filled the fridge and hypodermic syringes found on the floor could have given the toddler Hepatitis B.

A paediatrician described the conditions as among the worst he had seen. The child has since been adopted.

Richard Milne, prosecuting, told Lewes Crown Court: "Police described it as in a disgusting state and the child was on a sofa wrapped in an uncovered and filthy duvet.

"The bathroom represented a major health hazard to a child. There was evidence of discarded hypodermic needles, apparently used, on the floor together with soiled nappies. In the kitchen there was little evidence of any food."

The teenager, currently serving an 18-month sentence for unrelated offences, admitted cruelty to a child.

Rosemary Burns, defending, said the youth had lived at the housing association flat with his girlfriend since October 1997.

She said: "For the start they lived there happily but they started having problems with the property. Doors were hanging off hinges and they lived off crisis loans.

"Frankly it was a disgrace for anybody to live in that, let alone a small child.

"My client realises now the full consequences of having neglected his daughter and is distressed at having lost her."

Sentencing him to six months, Judge Guy Anthony said: "You may choose to live in such appalling conditions because you are an adult.

"What you cannot do is inflict such disgraceful living conditions on a child who clearly cannot look after herself."