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A Tesco shopper has been found guilty of punching a five-day-old baby in the face as she slept in her mum's trolley - but the sentence has left the girl's family outraged.

Security had to be called in to put a stop to angry exchanges between the families of David Hardy and the baby, Elsie Temple, outside court.

Hardy denied common assault and told his trial he was "messing about" and "trying to lighten the mood" when he touched the infant with "a loose fist".

The 63-year-old claimed he was pretending to wake up what he thought was a doll by "flicking her face" in an attempt at humour which backfired.

But District Judge Sam Goozee, sitting at Manchester Magistrates' Court, rejected his claim that he thought he had punched a doll as "implausible" and found him guilty.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

The incident took place at Tesco supermarket in Baguley, Wythenshawe, on September 5, when Amy Duckers took out Elsie for the first time in public.

The baby was strapped into a car seat and was placed in a small shopping trolley with Ms Ducker's seven-year-old daughter, Libby, on the opposite side.

Ms Ducker told the court she bumped into her next-door neighbour, who went over to the baby. The neighbour, who worked at Tesco, then called over her colleague, Hardy's wife, Elaine, to look at the "beautiful baby".

She said Hardy approached and, without warning, punched Elsie in the face and head.

She confronted him and she said he denied he had struck her.

After finding him guilty the judge told Hardy: "I’m satisfied so that I’m sure that at the point you struck out you did so with the intention and knowing Elsie was a baby, not a doll."

(Image: MEN)

The judge accepted that it had been an isolated incident and "completely out of character".

Hardy was fined £900 and ordered to pay £100 compensation and £500 towards prosecution costs.

He told the judge: “Thank you sir. I’m sorry, sir.”

But the baby girl's family reacted with fury in the public gallery when the judge announced he was prepared to fine Hardy rather than hand him a community sentence.

Elsie's grandfather stormed out of court describing the decision as "f****** joke, mate".

Outside court, Elsie and Hardy’s family were involved in angry exchanges.

Security was called when there were tussles between both sides, with the baby’s grandfather particularly angry.

Afterwards, the baby's uncle, Luke Temple, said: "He should have got a custodial sentence for him to think about what he did.

"He was all winking in the court like it was a big laugh. And to punch a baby in the face and say it’s a doll... I’m really upset."

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Hardy took the witness stand earlier Wednesday and told court he approached the baby and her older sister and said "I'm going to wake your baby".

He said: "I thought I was just going to make the girl laugh. I don’t know why I thought that.

"I thought it was a little girl’s dolly. I realise now it wasn’t but at the time.

"I immediately realised. I stood back and thought 'oh god, it’s a baby'. I honestly thought it was a doll.

"I didn't punch anyone. I just flicked the face. Not with any force.

"I just feel wracked with guilt for what I have done. I wouldn’t do that. I still can’t believe I did it."

At the time of the incident Hardy was heading to the tills with his wife of 24 years after they had finished shopping, he told the court.

He said he apologised repeatedly and was "extremely upset" afterwards.

Hardy said he saw a red mark "the size of an egg" which disappeared quickly.

Ms Duckers told court she thought her newborn was going to die as she screamed inside the supermarket following the incident.

(Image: MEN)

She took Elsie to hospital and the baby was discharged the following morning.

Ms Duckers told the court she had never seen Hardy before and was left fearing for her baby's life when she screamed out in agony.

She said: "He kind of acted as if he hadn’t done it at first.

"It was only when he saw the mark he admitted he had done it and then said he thought she was a doll."

Asked how the incident had affected her, she said: "It was more the effect on my other daughter seeing it which made it worse.

"She had to witness that. She had people talking about it in school.

"It’s quite distressing, obviously, for her to witness. It was distressing for me for me as an adult but for a seven-year-old child."

Court heard Hardy is a cash manager for a firm of Salford timber importers, with a son studying history at Manchester University and a stepson who works for Royal Bank of Scotland.