A MAN has been given a community punishment order after assaulting a two-year-old boy.

A court heard how Colin Wardle had been taking care of the child at his home in March when the incident happened.

Wardle, aged 37, of Bedford Street, Bury, who appeared at Bolton Crown Court on Monday, admitted occasioning actual bodily harm to the child.

Mr John Savage, prosecuting, said that the child's mother noticed an injury to the left hand side of her son's face and markings on the right.

"The defendant said that he had gone to check on the child and found him sleeping on the floor under a blanket and had to put him back to bed," Mr Savage said.

"The matter was reported to the police, and after the child was checked over, the conclusion was that the injuries were consistent with being hit by an adult hand."

In an interview, Wardle later admitted that an incident had taken place. He said that the child had become hysterical because his mother was not there.

Wardle said he had held on to the child's face for several seconds, and was only able to silence him that way.

John Chaplin, defending, said: "He accepts the seriousness of the incident and it is something he will have to learn from.

"It is a freak incident in his life."

Judge Elliot Knopf sentenced Wardle to a 120 hour community punishment order, and ordered him to pay £200 costs and £200 compensation.

He said: "We have got the pictures that show that the little boy's face was bruised by what you did to him.

"I have given serious consideration to sending you to prison, but he is of an age where he will not remember this.

"You had difficulty accepting accountability for the offence, but I think you have now moved on from that and appreciate you needed to take responsibility for your own actions and not blame a two-year-old."