A physical education (PE) teacher in the UK had his career ended after he was convicted of assault for smacking a "naughty" 4-year-old nursery school student. 54-year-old Ian Webber hit the child twice on the knees while the toddler was having a tantrum during football practice. The man was found guilty on February 27 for the assault which happened on May 23 last year during an after-school club.

Webber, who is from Warwickshire, is believed to have picked up the little boy by the shoulder and carried him across the sports hall before allegedly telling him: "If you kick me again, I'll smack you."

The 6ft 2in teacher denied assaulting the toddler by beating him and went on trial at the Birmingham Magistrates' Court on February 27. The PE teacher, who is experienced with 16 years under his belt, claimed that he did not smack the child and that the slapping sound that witnesses heard may have been him giving the child a "high five", the Daily Mail reported.

District Judge David Robinson found the PE teacher guilty of the charge after he said that the evidence of the toddler victim and three other boys was "clear and plausible". Webber was then handed a conditional discharge, ordered to pay the court costs, which came up to £850, as well as a victim surcharge of £20.

The judge told Webber: "Mr. Webber, I take into account that you were dealing with a difficult situation. You were doing the right thing until you did wrong. You were the adult and he was the child. You responded to being kicked and punched. This was an isolated offense in a long teaching career. This is likely to have a significant impact on your future. I found the evidence of the four boys clear and plausible. I believe the boys. I'm sure he is guilty of the two slaps alleged and I'm sure a conditional discharge is appropriate."

The coach who supervised the afterschool football club said that he did not see the PE teacher hitting the child who allegedly seemed "happier" after he was disciplined. Giving evidence in the court, the coach said: "I am a sports coach at the school. I teach football and basketball to pupils from the ages of four to nine years old. On May 23, I was having behavioral issues with the child. I took him out of the hall as his behavior was unacceptable."

He also added that Webber seemed to calm down the toddler and that they walked over to the coach a few minutes later and the child apologized. He said: "The boy seemed very happy, he was happier than at the start of the session. I did not see Mr. Webber smack the boy."

Defense attorney Alex Barbour said that the information which was given by the children could have been skewed in a "Chinese Whispers" sort of way and said that Webber stayed calm and collected during the cross-examination. He said: "He has no knowledge of a smack or slap. The man giving evidence is not a man who would lose his rag. The information was passed between the children and parents in a Chinese whispers type of way."

Prosecutor Tim Talbot-Webb said: "The victim was not a pupil at the school but attended the nursery. The victim attended the after-school football club. Mr. Webber was not one of the coaches at the football club. The child was having a tantrum. This was causing a disruption to the class. Mr. Webber stepped in. He was unsuccessful in calming him down. So he picked up the child up by the arms, so the child's feet weren't touching the ground. He said to the child 'if you kick me again, I'm going to smack you'. Then he did smack the child twice on the knees."

The toddler's mother told the court that another child had told her that Webber attacked her son when she went to pick him up. She said: "I went there to pick up at around 6 pm from the sports hall. My youngest son looked sad and I spoke to one of the coaches as to why he was sad. He said my son was having a tantrum and said that Mr. Webber was trying to calm him down."

She continued: "I was embarrassed that my son had kicked a teacher that I took no notice of what Mr. Webber had said to my son. My son was quiet on the way back, I spoke to him and he showed me he smacked him on each knee really hard. [Another boy] said the coach told him not to watch whilst it was happening."

Webber denied that he assaulted the toddler and told the authorities that he had put his arms down to stop the child from kicking him. He said: "I said to the boy 'if you keep kicking, you'll get a kick back.' I said it as a joke. In hindsight, I realize it was not the right thing to do. He kept kicking me, so I put my hand down as he tried to kick me."

"I'm awaiting shoulder surgery, so there is no way I could have lifted a child. It's my left shoulder and this is the arm I'm supposed to have lifted the child with. The tendons are shot in my shoulder, I can't lift with it, I can push but I can't lift upwards. I put my hand down in front of my leg to stop him from kicking my leg."