A FORMER soldier from Tavistock convicted of murdering his baby son will appear at the Appeal Court later this month in a bid to clear his name.

Michael Burridge was jailed for life at Plymouth Crown Court in March 2008 after a jury found him guilty of murdering his eight-week-old son Rees, whom he was looking after while his wife Donna was out shopping.

He has been granted leave to appeal against his conviction by the Appeal Court and on October 11 he will face a week-long battle at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London.

Burridge, a 30-year-old self-employed window-cleaner, repeatedly denied during his trial that he had harmed his son.

His defence team revealed he had told police when interviewed he would 'never, ever, ever, ever even think about hurting' Rees, who died on October 2, 2006.

An array of medical experts appeared for the Crown Prosecution Service, explaining to the jury the specific and complex injuries which they claimed led to his death.

The jury agreed with the experts who claimed Burridge had crushed his son's tiny ribs and shaken him violently back and forth.

Among the issues at the appeal will be the suggestion that Rees may have suffered from congenital bone and vitamin deficiencies which made him vulnerable.

During his trial, the court heard that before his arrest Burridge had had an exemplary record in the Army, serving with the Middlesex Regiment for nearly five years. He had no previous convictions and was of previous good character.

Last week The Herald reported how Rees' mother Donna Glynn suffered a four-year nightmare battle to bury her son.

His remains were finally released back to his family after one of the country's top judges applied an obscure 130-year-old law.

Using laws drawn up in the 19th century — which the appeal judge had not realised applied to him — Lord Justice Leveson exercised his power as a 'de facto coroner' to order the release of the remains.

The body of Rees had been held after Burridge launched a Court of Appeal bid in late 2008.

Describing the situation as 'terrible', the judge made an order under the Coroners Act 1887 to allow the 'corporeal remains' to be buried.