Taiwo Shittu, 55, of Atwood House, Dulwich, pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm in relation to the incident which took place on November 23 last year.

Woolwich Crown Court heard the parents of the two month old boy arranged for Shittu, who they named as Ms Alhaja, to perform the procedure at their home in Plumstead and paid her £100.

But the baby boy was brought into the A&E department of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich by his parents concerned with the amount of blood he was losing.

Doctors examined the child and deemed his condition to be life threatening.

He was transferred to Guy’s and St Thomas’ for emergency surgery, where a team of plastic surgeons attempted to rectify the damage caused to his penis.

An investigation was launched shortly afterwards by specialist detective from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command launched an investigation.

Efforts to trace Shittu began immediately and she was arrested at an address in Dulwich in December.

Officers discovered medical paraphernalia at her home address, as well as hospital grade antibiotics and surgical scissors.

Shittu claimed she worked as a midwife and nurse in her native Nigeria and carried out circumcisions there and in the UK.

But police uncovered she was a fake and had no formal medical qualifications as a nurse or midwife in the UK.

She was sentenced to 30 weeks imprisonment.

Detective Sergeant Kam Sodhi said: “The care she provided in the course of the procedure was so bad that it not only put a very young baby in a life threatening condition but it amounted to a serious crime.

“This was a medical procedure which, like any other, carries a risk. She failed to properly manage it and because of this caused the baby a serious and permanent injury.”

•Credit (except headline): London Evening Standard. Photo shows the jailed fake nurse, Taiwo Shittu.