In court, ‘family man’ who punched face of 5-day-old girl in Tesco
A ‘FAMILY man’ who punched a baby as her mother shopped in Tesco yesterday claimed the resulting uproar had left him ‘suicidal’.
David Hardy, 64, approached five-dayold Elsie Temple as she sat in her mother’s trolley – and hit her in the face.
The baby was left in tears with a red mark on her head, and was kept in hospital for seven hours before being allowed home.
Hardy, from Baguley, Greater Manchester, yesterday appeared in court where he pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault. He admitted throwing the punch – but claimed he thought Elsie was a doll.
His lawyer Chris Fallows told Manchester magistrates’ court: ‘This is an extremely unusual case. The defendant is a family man who has young children and does not behave in a way that is suggested by this allegation.
‘After the incident the defendant was hung, drawn and quartered on social media. [He] has been on the verge of suicide.’
The drama unfolded on September 5 at a Tesco store in Baguley where Elsie’s mother Amy Duckers, 27, was shopping along with her seven-yearold daughter Libby and partner Lewis Temple, 24. Miss Duckers, a carer, was showing Elsie to a friend, when they called over another acquaintance and her husband.
The man then rushed over and punched Elsie in the face. The newborn was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital at around 9pm, and was kept in until 4am the following day. Hardy was later arrested.
Miss Duckers posted details of the incident on Facebook, saying: ‘I still can’t get my head around what has happened in front of me and my poor Libby. We’re all so shook up and it’s probably going to take some time for us to recover.’
Mr Fallows told the court that Hardy had believed the girl was a toy. He said: ‘The crown suggest Mr Hardy deliberately punched a five-day-old baby to the face in a carry cot in a shopping trolley.
‘The defendant says he thought it was a doll. He says in his statement that he said this to the young child standing next to the trolley.
‘It is conceded by the defendant that what occurred was unusual, bizarre and he acted rather foolishly. It is backed up in the state- ments of the witnesses that when he realised what he had done he was in shock.’
The case was adjourned until next month. Hardy was bailed on the condition that he does not go to Tesco in Baguley. He also cannot have unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18, or contact Elsie’s mother and father.