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This is the horrific moment a tiny newborn baby was battered and bitten by a nurse who was supposed to be caring for her.

Chilling CCTV footage captures the moment savage Emiliya Kovacheva repeatedly beat and then bit the four-day-old tot.

The baby girl, called Nicole, was being kept under observation at the Sofiamed hospital in Bulgaria after having been born a few days earlier.

The shocking attack was initially feared to be so brutal that the baby would either not survive or be brain damaged.

(Image: CEN)

Medics worked around the clock to treat little Nicole and it is thought that she will now fully recover from the ordeal.

The nurse was arrested after the CCTV images revealed the reason why the child had suddenly ended up with the injuries including bite marks.

Prosecutors claim Kovacheva, who has been charged with attempted murder, was frustrated by the fact that the newborn would not go to sleep, and decided to punish it for waking up the other babies.

The nurse initially denied doing anything wrong until the shocking CCTV footage emerged - at which point she admitted hitting the baby.

(Image: CEN)

Her defence is pushing for a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm, but if they lose and the nurse is accused of attempted murder, she faces up to 20 years behind bars.

Hospital spokesman Boriana Marinkova said: "The most important thing for a child’s parents is to see how the baby will recover, other things are not so important."

But others are pushing for the most severe punishment possible.

Bulgaria actor Aleksandr Kadiev gave an interview on the incident saying that the woman should get the death penalty.

(Image: CEN)

One person posted a comment online condemning the shocking incident.

They wrote: "This video was so disturbing I haven't been able to get the images out of my mind since I saw them.

"I've never seen anything so horrific. I say if you’re that stressed and feel you've reached your breaking point, then leave the building, go stay with a friend, call someone who cares!

"My heart goes out to the parent of this baby. I pray she doesn't suffer any brain damage."