A woman "tried to grab" a stranger's baby as she shopped in Lidl, a court was told. Fellow customers formed a barricade around the child's mother and buggy as the incident unfolded.
Witnesses told how the baby's mother was left visibly "distressed" during the incident at the store in Stockton-on-Tees. Now the woman, who insisted it had been a misunderstanding, has been convicted of assault following the incident.
Magistrates on Teesside were told how Carolyn Taylor approached the mother and child inside the store on December 4 last year. Witnesses told how the 43-year-old grandmother repeatedly tried to grab the baby boy from his buggy, reports Teesside Live.
The baby's mother was unable to attend court but a fellow shopper told the hearing how the incident unfolded. He said: "I'd gone into Lidl and as I was walking down I saw a young lady pushing a buggy and behind her was the defendant following her. Straight away I could tell something was amiss.
"The mother was distressed she seemed heartbroken. The defendant was fixating on the baby saying there was something wrong with him. She went to grab the hat from the baby. She was fixating on him. It was just madness, crazy."
The witness said he felt 'threatened' by the defendant. He told how she repeatedly kept trying to grab the child leading to himself and fellow shoppers building a barricade around the mother and pram.
A day later, Taylor was interviewed by police and denied the offence. During the trial the Teessider - who has no previous convictions - claimed she visited the shop to buy lunch and said to the mother 'isn't he cute?' but said the woman took offence.
She said: "I remember walking in the shop and I approached a lady who had a child in a pushchair. I said isn't he cute? And she looked at me strangely so I said is he ok?
"She pulled the pushchair back very abrupt and said what are you doing? I was a bit taken back and shocked. It's all exaggerated. I did not go to grab him I said he didn't look very well and lifted his hat slightly."
Taylor, of Bridge Road, Stockton, was found guilty of assault and will be sentenced on July 13, at Teesside Magistrates' Court.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea
