Dad who struck children with wood and whip jailed

The defendant was jailed at Lincoln Crown Court

A man who used a piece of wood and a whip to hit his own children has been jailed for seven years and five months.

During a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court, the defendant, who is from Grantham but cannot be named to protect the identities of his victims, admitted child cruelty against three children between 2015 and 2022.

The court was told two boys were subjected to repeated assaults, which became more frequent as they got older.

A restraining order was also imposed preventing the defendant having any contact with his children for 10 years.

Jon Dee, prosecuting, told the court the repeated incidents of violence were committed either in temper or as a punishment.

One of the boys was struck with a piece of wood to his arm and a girl was hit with a whip, the court was told.

The defendant admitted three charges of child cruelty, two charges of assault causing actual bodily harm and one offence of criminal damage.

In mitigation, Eddison Flint told the court: "The defendant's position has always been that this was not sadism, it was him acting as a disciplinarian.

"There is a degree of remorse from the defendant about what happened."

Passing sentence, Judge James House KC told the court the cruelty only came to an end when the girl reported the incident with the whip to a friend.

"She described begging him to stop," Judge House said, adding that the "true impact" on the children may only be know when they reach maturity.

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