Earlyface

The mother of a little girl who was beaten
black and blue by an 'out-of-control' two-
year-old at nursery has called for the child's
expulsion.
Katie Ann Guttridge, aged three, sustained a
bruised eye socket, scratches and three bite
marks when she was attacked by her
classmate during playtime at Ratby Pre-
School Nursery in Leicester.
The little girl's mother, Clara Mackow, said
her daughter was almost blinded in the
attack and that her injuries were so bad that
she was taken to hospital with a suspected
broken eye socket.
Police were called in to investigate the
assault but were powerless to act because
the girl who attacked Katie is below the legal
age of criminal responsibility - which in this
country is 10 years old.
When confronted by journalists, the mother
of the violent girl refused to discuss her
child's behaviour, saying only: 'My daughter
is two years old. I want nothing more to do
with this.'
Now, parents are demanding the child -
who has been dubbed 'Chucky' after the
violent child-like doll in the horror film
Child's Play - be removed from the nursery
after she attacked 10 other children.
Ms Mackow, 28, a trainee goldsmith, said
she couldn't believe it when she saw her
daughter after the attack on December 13,
adding: 'I just cried. She had gashes to her
lips and a terrible black eye. Katie looked like
she had been in a fight with a dog that had
mauled her.
'We had to take her to hospital because the
doctors thought she had fractured her eye
socket.
'She was almost blinded in the attack which
was totally unprovoked. I know kids get into
scrapes but my daughter was really hurt in
this attack.'
It has been claimed the two-year-old, who
has not been identified, has attacked 10
other children since she started the nursery
in September.
Ms Mackow, (pictured above with Katie who
has since recovered from her injuries) who
also has a five-year-old son Joshua, said:
'The little girl is two but she has behavioural
problems.
'The little girl who attacked her has a history
of beating up other children. She's out of
control.
'I know 10 other children have been
assaulted by the girl since September. The
staff at the nursery don't seem able to cope
with the difficult children.
'Ironically, the little girl's mother is a child
minder with close links to the nursery and
school so the staff consider her one of their
own and seem reluctant to discipline her.
'Nursery and pre-school should be fun and
enjoyable but Katie is scared of going now
and doesn't even want to go outside in case
she bumps into the girl who hurt her.'
Katie and the girl started at the pre-school
and nursery, held in Ratby Village Hall, at the
same time in September.
Official nursery incident reports showed
Katie has been attacked on four separate
occasions by the same girl.
The nursery's Accident/Injury form states
that on September 22 the girl hit Katie on
the forehead with a 'plastic yellow
drummer'.
On October 11 the same girl 'pushed two
duplo bricks together pinching Katie's left
hand.'
On November 5 the same child 'grabbed
Katie's hair and face and sucked her cheek
causing a mark.'
The incident was deemed so serious
nursery managers sent a letter home to
Katie's parents explaining her injuries.
But the most serious attack happened on
December 13 when the girl cornered Katie
in the book area of the nursery.
Nursery staff applied an ice pack to Katie's
face to reduce the swelling and called in her
father Lewis Guttridge to collect her and
take her to hospital.
The nursery has a maximum of 26 children
aged between two and four years old but
has more than 100 youngsters on their
books and waiting list.
Ms Mackow is now preparing to take legal
action against the nursery claiming
negligence.
She added: ‘I am not doing this for the
money, I just want parents to be aware that
when they drop their children at nursery or
pre-school they should not blindly believe