A 25-year-old mother has been arrested for stabbing her baby son to death to remove his intestines because she wanted to “get the Devil out”.

The horrific slaughter took place at the woman’s home in the city of Guayaquil city, Guayas province, western Ecuador, on 30th June.

According to local media, the young mother believed that her two-month-old baby was possessed by the devil.

She thought that by removing his intestines she would exorcise the evil spirit.

The baby’s grandmother heard his screams and came to the bathroom where she found his mum with a knife in her hand and the boy’s stomach cut open.

The grandmother seized the baby and desperately called the emergency services.

But the infant died later in the Dr Francisco de Icaza Bustamante Children’s Hospital, according to reports.

The young mother was subsequently arrested for killing her baby son.

Police spokesperson Alex Ganchala told local media that the baby’s mother tried to remove his intestines with a knife, adding: “She said that this is how the devil has to be removed from a child.”

The mother told cops that she learned it on television.

According to local media, the mother suffers from mental health issues and had to be treated by paramedics on the scene before being handed over to the police.

Her family said she has 75 per cent intellectual and hearing disabilities.

The investigation is ongoing.