MARK Cook was found guilty of common assault and sent to prison for four months after hitting a seven-year-old boy with a wooden bed slat.

Cook, 36, of Bremhill, appeared before North Wiltshire Magistrates sitting in Chippenham last Wednesday for sentencing after being convicted of the offence on June 22.

Cook pleaded guilty to hitting the boy, who has a bowel problem, on his backside with the piece of wood, after he found he had had an accident and hidden the excrement on November 17.

Colin Meeke for the Crown Prosecution Service said the attack left the boy, who cannot be named, with a five-inch red mark on his body.

Mr Meeke said Cook had said he was going to punish the boy and when he held out his hands for a smack, he decided that wouldn't be sufficient.

"He told the boy to bend over, looked around, saw there was a bed slat and picked it up to hit him with it," he said.

Defence solicitor Ed Speary asked the court to consider giving Cook a community service order because he was at times suicidal and thought prison would not be in his best interests.

"He has a feeling there is little purpose left in his life and has made threats to end his life," said Mr Speary.

"This was his way of dealing with what he thought was inappropriate behaviour and it was not a particularly serious assault in terms of the injury caused."

In making the decision to send Cook to prison, chair of magistrates Michael Sharp said there were three aggravating features in the case: the child was vulnerable, there was use of a weapon and Cook showed a "total absence of remorse".

Mr Sharp added: "We have decided this was so serious that only a custodial sentence is appropriate."