ANGRY at finding his baby son at an Ely pub, Robert Bennett grabbed the child and then poked the youngster s mother in the eye as he left the premises. Robert Bennett was worried after seeing Sadie Ogilvie drinking a pint of lager through a straw at the R

ANGRY at finding his baby son at an Ely pub, Robert Bennett grabbed the child and then poked the youngster's mother in the eye as he left the premises.

Robert Bennett was worried after seeing Sadie Ogilvie drinking a pint of lager through a straw at the Royal Standard, city magistrates were told.

Afraid that the child's mother would not be able to look after the baby, Bennett removed his son, and pointed at Ms Ogilvie as he left, catching her in the eye.

"It was an accident, but he was reckless," solicitor Jacqui Baldwin told the court. "He was not intentionally violent towards her."

She said the couple had since separated, and Bennett had care of the child.

Police were called to the pub on June 4, and saw Ms Ogilvie with a black eye, said prosecutor Laura Mardell. She refused to make a statement, and refused to have a photograph taken of her injuries.

When arrested, Bennett told officers he had seen his partner and young son at the pub, and he was cross, so decided to take the child away from that environment.

"Ms Ogilvie chased him, and while he was pointing at her, to return her to her seat, he poked her in the eye," added Miss Mardell.

Giving Bennett a one-year conditional discharge and ordering him to pay �30 costs, magistrates' chairman Sue Griffin said: "We accept this was not intentional and you did not set out to harm Sadie Ogilvie.