Teacher 'hit injured girl's hand'

A teacher left a 13-year-old pupil who had recently undergone surgery "in agony", a court has been told.

Robert Williamson, 63, from Fern Road, Newton Abbot, Devon, pleaded not guilty at Torbay Magistrates' court to assaulting the girl in June.

The girl, who cannot be named, was scalded as a child, leaving her needing skin grafts to her hand.

Mr Williamson is said to have slammed his hand down on her injured hand to make her finish a technology lesson.

Prosecutor Clifford Howard said the girl had undergone a number of operations over the years, including one on the fingers of her left hand in May.

The bandaging had been removed by the following month when the girl's design and technology class was making clocks from wood and plastic.

He told me to put my hand straight. I did as much as I could Unnamed girl

A classmate helped the pupil, who was having difficulty with some drilling.

The teacher insisted the girl finished the task herself and when she said she could not straighten her hand, he slammed his hand on to hers to make her do the task, Mr Howard told the court.

"It caused her pain, she was in tears, and left the class crying," he added.

In a videoed police interview watched by the court, the girl said Mr Williamson told her to do the work herself.

'Sorry not enough'

"He told me to put my hand straight. I did as much as I could.

"He slammed his hand on my fingers which had been operated on."

She told the court that Mr Williamson later said sorry, but added: "Saying sorry really is not good enough."

The teenager said Mr Williamson knew about her fingers as he had helped her with work on a previous occasion.

She said she was in "agony" for the rest of the night after the incident.

The trial continues.