A father has been convicted of killing his two baby sons by suffocating them in incidents eight years apart.

Ian Metcalfe, 34, of Locharbriggs, Dumfries, was found guilty of the culpable homicide of three-month-old Kyle Metcalfe on 27 January, 1988.

He was also convicted of assaulting and killing six-month-old Dylan Lockerbie on 12 March, 1996.

Metcalfe had denied the murder and attempted murder of the two infants and was found guilty of culpable homicide by the jury at the High Court in Edinburgh.

I now have the opportunity to come to terms with the circumstances of Kyle's death

Michelle Johnstone Mother of Kyle Metcalfe

He was further found guilty of assaulting, asphyxiating and endangering the life of a third child, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Flanked by two officers in the dock, Metcalfe stared blankly as the jury of seven women and eight men delivered their majority verdicts on all five charges.

Sentence has been deferred until 20 August for psychiatric reports.

'Sudden deaths'

The deaths of both infants were put down as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or a cot death.

But the trial heard the expert opinions of a number of clinicians who said they thought the babies had been physically abused.

Experts called in to examine the medical evidence found that both victims had suffered multiple rib fractures before their deaths and had been subjected to previous suffocating attacks.

Ian Metcalfe denied the charges

A number of injuries noted on Dylan had already led to a case conference being called under the auspices of social services, although a decision was taken not to place him on the child protection register.

Kyle's mother Michelle Johnstone released a statement after the verdict in which she appealed for privacy to get over her son's death.

"On behalf of my family and myself I would like to say that this trial has been difficult and distressing for all of us," she said.

"Nothing can make amends for the tragic death of my son Kyle and I also know that nothing can be done to bring him back.

Child removed

"I now have the opportunity to come to terms with the circumstances of Kyle's death."

Following Dylan's death, Metcalfe and the child's mother, Maureen Lockerbie, had another son, Nathan, who was taken away at birth and adopted by Dumfries and Galloway social services.

Speaking outside the courtroom, Ms Lockerbie, 24, said she was "devastated" by the verdict and vowed to stand by her man.

This man was a repeat offender who covered his tracks well

Joint authorities' statement

"It was a majority verdict, the other half knew he was innocent, they just didn't want to commit themselves to finding him innocent, but he is, I'm absolutely convinced he is," she said.

"It's just they've managed to create all this suspicion to point in his direction... God knows what he's feeling right now."

She also indicated her fianc� would be looking to appeal.

Forensic science

"I'll be speaking to (agent for the defence) Mr Findlay once he sees Ian, to see what we can do," she said.

Council, police, health and child protection services welcomed the verdict.

A joint statement said: "This man was a repeat offender who covered his tracks well and has been brought to justice thanks to the increasing sophistication of forensic science and to the persistence of the many agencies involved in this case."