LONDON - A three-year-old Brit girl was caught on tape smoking a cigarette like a seasoned smoker, and at the same time chain-smoking.

The little girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was given a cigarette by Graeme Conroy, and as she puffed away he could be heard joking and laughing about it.

But the toddler was not done with just one Newcastle Crown court was told, and immediately asked for another.

She had already smoked two cigarettes before Conroy arrived, and when she begged for a third smoke, Conroy initially refused but relented when she started to cry.

She had smoked five cigarettes in total.

Conroy, 31, of Ashington, Northumberland, thought it was such a huge joke that he encouraged a 14-year-old girl in the house to video the incident on her mobile phone.

He admitted causing unnecessary suffering or injury to the health of a child at a house in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, in February.

“I expect you realise now this was not funny at all. This sort of conduct could be very damaging to a child’s health and could have all sorts of effects upon her future health,” the Daily Express quoted Judge David Wood, who sentenced Conroy to 18 months jail, as saying.

The teenager who recorded the incident, which came to light when another adult saw the clip and contacted police, said that the child seemed very familiar with the act of smoking.

“It looked like she had smoked before. She was inhaling and she knew what to do,” the teenager said.

“Graeme didn’t tell her what to do, she just knew what to do,” she stated.

The court was told that Conroy had bragged that he had also given the girl cannabis, although tests showed no trace and there was no evidence the child had ever taken cannabis.

A doctor had examined the youngster and tests showed the girl’s chest was clear, although she had a low wheezing.

But there was evidence she had been forced to smoke cigarettes. (ANI)