Three nursery nurses cruelly force-fed toddlers in their care before being exposed by a whistleblowing student who was on work experience, a court heard.

Katie Davies, 32, Christina Pinchess, 31, and Schelbie Forgan, 22, allegedly left the children 'traumatised and distressed' with their treatment of them.

A court heard the women were charged with child cruelty following complaints from a college student at the Bright Sparks nursery.

Katie Davies (pictured left), 32, Christina Pinchess (right), 31, and Schelbie Forgan, 22, allegedly left the children 'traumatised and distressed' with their treatment of them

Natasha Walsh-Jones, 23, allegedly saw Davies and Forgan 'laughing' as they force-fed a toddler who was refusing their food.

Nursery owner Davies was said to have held the toddler's head, while staff member Forgan forced the food into their mouth and moved their jaw up and down to imitate chewing.

On another occasion Pinchess, the deputy manager, is said to have tried to stop a young boy crying by covering his mouth with his own hand.

She also allegedly picked up a young child by their wrists before they were 'dropped to the floor' at the nursery in Port Talbot, South Wales.

Volunteer Miss Walsh-Jones told how staff 'laughed' as a six-month-old baby was force fed by having his jaw manually moved in an eating motion.

She described how deputy manager Pinchess and staff member Forgan sat either side of the 'distressed' infant who was in a highchair.

She said: 'Katie instructed Shelbie to hold him under his jaw while she held his forehead.

'They tried to move his mouth in an like an eating mechanism.

'The food was being stored in the baby boy's cheeks, he was crying and choking a little.

'It went on for 10 minutes - his mouth was over rammed with food.'

Miss Walsh-Jones, who is and doing a degree in childcare, said both staff members were laughing as they tried to get food into the baby's mouth.

She added: 'I was looking on and tearing up. I was a volunteer so i did not feel able to step in.'

Natasha Walsh-Jones allegedly saw Davies and Forgan (pictured) 'laughing' as they force-fed a toddler refusing their food

Miss Walsh Jones said on another occasion a two-year-old boy was 'thrown across the floor' of the nursery by Pinchess sorting out a squabble between two tots.

Asked how far the boy was thrown she indicated a distance of approximately eight feet.

She told the jury: 'He landed on his coccyx, he was creaming and crying.

'I went to him but Christina instructed me not to because he had been naughty and he deserved it.'

Miss Walsh-Jones, who was 22 at the time, said she later discreetly checked on the toddler and found 'redness' on his lower back.

She reported what she had seen to her lecturers in college and police were brought in.

Miss Walsh-Jones was due to volunteer at the Bright Sparks nursery in Port Talbot for two years but quit after four weeks.

She told Swansea Crown Court: 'I left because I was not happy with the way children were being treated.'

David Scutt, prosecuting, told the court: 'These instances happened with some sort of continuity and commonality.

'The children of these ages required the utmost care and attention as well as a lot of patience.

'They were not always treated with that care and attention, as well as the degree of patience needed for small children who cannot look after themselves.

'There is no suggestion that these children were badly beaten or badly injured. But they were distressed and traumatised by their treatment.'

Mr Scutt said daily diaries for children were regularly falsified, giving parents a misleading account of their child's day at the nursery.

Swansea Crown Court heard the three women 'emphatically' denied the allegations, which relate to a four-month period between 2015 and 2016.

Bright Sparks, which only opened in 2014, was closed last year after concerns were voiced about the treatment given to children.

Davies, from Port Talbot, denies one count of causing cruelty to a person under the age of 16. Pinchess, from Cwmavon, denies six charges of causing cruelty to a person under the age of 16.

Forgan, from Port Talbot, denies three counts of causing cruelty to a person under the age of 16.

The trial continues.