A Bradford mother has been spared an immediate jail sentence for beating her ten-year-old daughter with a plastic coathanger because she failed to answer a maths question correctly.

The woman, in her 30s, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with supervision and 100 hours of unpaid work for the community.

She was sentenced by Judge Peter Benson at Leeds Crown Court yesterday.

During the woman’s trial at Bradford Crown Court last month, the jury was told the terrified child fled barefoot from her home in her pyjamas after her mother assaulted her. She ran across two busy main roads before taking refuge in Bankfoot Spiritualist Church in Bowling Old Lane and prosecutor Nigel Hamilton said the girl told the congregation her mother had beaten her with a plastic coat hanger on her arms when she failed to answer a maths question correctly.

The woman claimed the girl’s injuries were carpet burns and a mark caused by a sharp door lock.

But the jury heard medical evidence that the injuries on the girl’s forearms were consistent with being struck nine times with a straight-edged implement with “a significant severe force”.

Her mother was convicted of causing actual bodily harm.