Prisoner meets son, 14, whom he last saw as a baby

Thomas White with his son Kayden before he was imprisoned

A prisoner who has been in jail since he was locked up for stealing a mobile phone 12 years ago has been able to see his teenage son for the first time since he was a baby.

Thomas White, 40, from Bury, was given a two-year prison term in 2012 but the sentence was indeterminate.

He last saw son, Kayden, now 14, when he was 10 months old.

Kayden was said to have "leapt off his seat" when White walked into the family room at HMP Garth prison.

'Beautiful to watch'

White's sister Clara White said her nephew Kayden was "over the moon" to finally meet his father.

She said the teen has never seen a photograph of his dad but was told he had jet black hair.

She said: "All the other inmates were coming through the doors to sit with their families and every man who had jet black hair, Kayden was saying to my mum, 'Is that my dad?'

"Thomas came through the door and Kayden just leapt off his seat and hugged Thomas, and Thomas held him for a few minutes.

"I believe there wasn't a dry eye in that visitors room.

"My mum said it was beautiful to watch, but hard and emotional - it's been a really tiring journey for us."

Kayden White with his grandmother Margaret outside the prison

White's family campaigned for more than a decade for the father and son to be allowed to meet.

They previously told the BBC that he had been moved between 16 different prisons since 2012, when he was given an imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence.

The regular changes meant White had never been able to complete rehabilitation courses that would have been necessary for him to be granted parole, his family said.

They also said White had developed paranoid schizophrenia during his time in jail, which further frustrated efforts to get the authorities to agree to a meeting between him and his son.

The pair have been able to talk on the phone almost every day, but from now on Kayden will be allowed to see his father every month.

Ms White said for a long time her brother had been "trying to raise a child over the phone in the most awful conditions".

She added: "The visit has give him hope but at the same time he feels hopeless - he knows he may never live a fruitful life with his son."

IPP sentencing was mainly used for serious offenders, but it was also used for some repeat offenders guilty of less serious crimes until it was abolished in 2012.

The two-hour visit was granted after the former Home Secretary, David Blunkett, intervened in White's case.

Lord Blunkett brought in IPP sentences during the Labour government of 1997 to 2010, but has since said he "got it wrong".

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the government had reduced the number of unreleased IPP prisoners by three quarters since scrapping them in 2012.

But, he added: "Retrospectively changing sentences poses a risk to public safety because offenders who the Parole Board have deemed unsafe for release, many of whom have committed serious violent or sexual offences, would leave prison without probation supervision and support."

He said the government continued to "help those still in custody to progress towards release", including "improving access to rehabilitation programmes and mental health support".

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