A North Berwick man has avoided jail after he admitted shaking a four-month-old baby and bruising him.
Jamie Duncan, 26, was looking after the child when he grabbed him and failed to support his head.
When the baby’s mother later noticed a bruise on his chest, under his right ribcage, Duncan admitted to her what he had done.
At Glasgow Sheriff Court, Duncan, from Lime Grove, North Berwick, East Lothian, pled guilty to assaulting the baby on May 21, 2014,at a house in Thornliebank, Glasgow.
Sheriff Linda Ruxton handed Duncan a community payback order with the condition that he carries out 200 hours of unpaid work.
She said:"You are close to receiving a custodial sentence not just in relation to the gravity of the offence, which is shaking a very young baby and causing the baby’s injury, it is because of your record."
Defence lawyer Jim Irvine told the court: "He accepts the charge, he accepts his conduct towards the child was too rough."
The lawyer added that Duncan admitted to the child’s mum that he had grabbed her baby and not supported his head which caused it to fall.
The police were contacted a couple of days after the injury was spotted.