A NURSERY worker who drew a moustache on a toddler’s face with a permanent marker while he was sleeping and then took a photograph of him is facing jail.

Laura Houston, 25, also pulled the little boy’s legs away from him, causing him to fall and smack his face on the floor, leaving him in tears.

She also tripped a little girl up while walking along beside her and holding her hand. And she attacked a third toddler by slapping him across the chest to get him to be quiet, causing him to freeze with fear.

She was convicted of assaulting three children in her care at the East Renfrewshire nursery between August 2014 and February 2015.

Houston, who is a fully qualified early years practitioner, was warned she faces jail for assaulting the three one-year-olds.

Trainee nursery workers Logan Craig and Jennifer Mackie, who were colleagues of Houston at the time, witnessed the attacks.

Ms Craig said she saw Houston drawing on the little boy’s face whilst he was asleep, while Ms Mackie said Houston admitted she had done it.

Giving evidence at Paisley Sheriff Court, Ms Mackie said: “[The boy] had a moustache drawn over his top lip. Laura was taking a picture of [the boy] with one of the nursery cameras of [him] with the pen on his face.

“Logan said Laura had drawn on his face. I looked at Laura and she confirmed that.

“He was taken into the bathroom by Logan because it wasn’t coming off with one of the face wipes.”

Ms Mackie, who is now 18 but was only 16 at the time, said she was shaken by the incident. She added: “I had seen Laura tripping up the children as well. I witnessed Laura calling [one boy] over and putting her leg out and tripping him over.

“[The boy] fell over. He started crying as he’d obviously hurt himself.”

Houston had been charged with assaulting five one-year-olds, but she was cleared of two assaults due to a lack of credible and reliable evidence.

Sheriff Colin Pettigrew called for her to be assessed by social workers ahead of sentencing and adjourned the case until next month.