A grown man who punched a newborn baby in the face as her mother was showing her to friends in a Tesco store has claimed he mistook the infant for a toy doll.

David Hardy, 63, approached five-day-old Elsie Temple as she lay in her carry cot inside a shopping trolley then thumped her as the youngster's mother Amy Duckers looked on in horror.

The baby was left extremely upset by the incident and was taken to hospital with a red mark to her face. She was kept in for seven hours before being allowed home.

Hardy, from Greater Manchester, was later arrested but claimed he thought Elise was a toy and didn't realise she was an actual child.

David Hardy, 63, faces a trial for punching a baby in the face in a Manchester supermarket

Hardy, who is a grandfather, appeared before a district judge at Manchester Magistrates Court today on the eve of his 64th birthday.

He admitted throwing the punch - but pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault saying he had no intention of hitting a baby. He will face a trial next month.

The incident occurred at 6pm on September 5, the first time Ms Duckers had taken her baby out after her birth, when her family were shopping for some dinner.

They saw a neighbour who worked there and began speaking about the baby when Hardy approached.

As Ms Duckers later told friends in a social media post, her baby was then hit in the face by Hardy, who she described as 'very sick' and 'not well'.

Elsie was rushed to Wythenshawe Hospital, arriving at around 9pm, and was kept in until 4am the next day.

Five-day-old Elsie Temple was punched in the face. Her mother Amy Duckers was horrified

Ms Duckers wrote about the incident on Facebook, saying: 'Words cannot describe how I feel'

Defence lawyer Chris Fallows told the hearing: 'This is an extremely unusual case. This defendant effectively a family man who has young children in the family and does not behave in a way that is suggested to this allegation.

'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 believed - and this belief was prior to the incident - that he thought it was a doll.

'He says in his statement that he said this to the young child standing next to the shopping trolley. It is backed up in the statements of the witnesses that when he realised what he had done he was described as being shock.

'It is conceded by the defendant that what occurred was unusual, bizarre and he acted rather foolishly. The prosecution suggest that this was intentional.

'This defendant has been on the verge of suicide and his family will have to go through evidence which is already in their statements. I asked for this case to be moved forwards because Mr Hardy wants it dealt with as quickly as possible.'

The incident happened at Tesco in Baguley, Manchester on September 5 this year

Details of the incident went on Facebook, with Miss Duckers telling friends she was 'torn apart' by what happened.

She posted: 'Words cannot describe how I feel right now, and still can't get my head around what has happened in front of me and my poor Libby.

'We're all still so shook up and it's probably going to take some time for us all to recover.

'Just to let family and friends know, Elsie is currently being monitored on the children's ward for any head injuries.

'No one can get their head around why this was done, other than he's very sick, twisted, vile, not well man, and his excuse was he thought she was a doll.

'Thank you so much to Baguley Tesco for all you did tonight, you were all amazing, thank you so much for the way you dealt with the situation and treated us all.'