Pleaded guilty to manslaughter and wrongly claiming £27,000 in foster fees

Dumped him back in his cot and did nothing until her husband came home

Shook him so violently 23-month-old was left with massive brain injuries

Baby was struggling to eat without

Wendy Hardy, 46, assaulted Harry Aspley just months after taking him into her home. She was pictured smirking outside court on the day she admitted manslaughter

A smiling foster mother has been jailed for more than six years after shaking a 23-month-old baby to death and blowing £27,000 of ill-gotten child care fees on a holiday and car.

Wendy Hardy, 46, assaulted Harry Aspley just months after taking him into her home in December 2012.

When he struggled to eat without vomiting on March 26, 2013, she lost her temper and shook him so violently he suffered massive brain injuries.

Hardy then dumped him back in his crib at her home in Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire, only calling an ambulance when her husband David returned from work two hours later.

Harry was rushed to Leicester Royal Infirmary but died of his injuries five days later.

Hardy was yesterday jailed for six-and-a-half years after admitting manslaughter and fraud.

She was initially charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter when she appeared at Leicester Crown Court in November.

At that appearance, she was seen grinning outside the court room.

Sentencing her at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, Judge Jeremy Baker said: 'Harry was a very vulnerable child.

'As an experienced foster parent you would have known all too well the risks of treating him in the manner you did.

'Knowing you had seriously injured Harry, you failed to seek prompt medical help.

'After such attention was given to him, you lied about the circumstances of his injuries.'

The court heard Hardy and her husband David, 36, had fostered children from five years from their £300,000 four-bedroom detached home.

Before and during their time with Harry, the couple had been incorrectly receiving money for fostering two other children no longer in their care.

Harry was rushed to Leicester Royal Infirmary (pictured) but died of his injuries five days later. Hardy was yesterday jailed for six-and-a-half years after admitting manslaughter and fraud

Hardy was yesterday jailed for six-and-a-half years at Birmingham Crown Court after admitting manslaughter and fraud

They spent £27,460 of that money on a new car and a holiday to Turkey.

Mr Hardy earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of converting criminal property.. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years.

THE CHECKS ON CARERS To become a foster parent, applicants must contact their local council. Some councils use agencies to place children into care. The council or agency carries out a disclosure and barring service check for criminal record – although Warwickshire council’s website states ‘minor offences committed some time ago may not exclude you from fostering’. A health check is also carried out to ensure the parent will be able to care for the child. They will attend a group session with other applicants and a suitability assessment. If successful, their file is sent to an independent panel which decides. Foster parents get an allowance up to £216 a week – according to location and age of the child – and are reviewed each year by the council or agency. Advertisement

The couple were also charged with cruelty due to neglect as Harry lost more than a quarter of his body weight during the three months in their care.

Those charges were ordered to lie on file and could be proceeded with in the future.

Nick Lumley, defending Mrs Hardy, said the incident had been the result of a 'perfect storm' of issues.

He added that the couple had lacked help from social services in caring for Harry, who had suspected autism and was losing his muscle control, in the months they were caring for him.

He said: 'This was as far removed from a conscious and deliberate killing as might possibly be imagined.'

Helen Johnson, defending Mr Hardy, told the judge her client was the sole carer for two young children.

Detective Superintendent Neil Castle, who led the investigation, described the death as ‘tragic’, adding: ‘Harry was being looked after solely by Wendy Hardy when he sustained the injuries that led to his death.