A homeless spat on a nine-month-old baby after he was asked by the child’s mother to move to let her get past with her pram, a court was told. Aaron Richards, 43, was ordered to pay compensation to the woman after the incident in Plymouth. Prosecuting, Alistair Verheijen told Deputy District Judge David Bolton at Plymouth Magistrates' Court the baby’s mum was pushing her baby in a pram along Union Street at about 12.30pm on November 1, 2024.

As she advanced along the road, she came across Richards lying with his legs in the path. She then politely asked Richards if he could move his legs and he responded with what was described as a "strange comment backwards," the judge was told. The mum later told police she thought Richards was under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.

At this point the baby began "started groaning," at which point Richards sat up and spat on the baby's hand, PlymouthLive reports.

Mr Verheijen said she described the spittle as roughly the same size as a five-pence coin.

The distraught mother told police her baby "did not deserve this," adding that she did not know "what illness or disease” Richards might have.

He then stood up and walked along Union Street towards Lidl, where he was later arrested.

He subsequently denied the offence and provided police at Charles Cross station with a prepared statement via the duty solicitor in which he insisted he had not spat the baby.

The statement added: "I would not do that. I feel disgusted."

Mr Verheijen said Richards was "known to the court” after he was sentenced to 52 weeks in jail in January for the offence of actual bodily harm upon a police constable, racially aggravated harassment, and threatening behaviour.

Richards appeared at Plymouth Magistrates' Court via video link from HMP Channings Wood.

Mitigating, Graham Kinchin said his client had "no recollection of the incident” and was "disgusted and appalled" by what he was accused of doing - but that he did not seek to deny it.

Richads recognised that the act of spitting on a baby was wrong, but he could not remember doing it. Mr Kinchin said Richards had been homeless at the time and was an alcoholic.

Mr Minchin said that after the incident in Union Street, he had been released under investigation, but in January was jailed for a number of offences, and this matter had only now come before the court.

At present, Richards' release date was June 3 and that he had expressed "genuine remorse" for what he had done, Mr Kinchin added.