A court has heard that a man who set fire to his home after falling asleep while cooking assaulted a neighbour's baby after its mother complained about the danger he had created.
Paul Brazier, 52, of St Peter Street, Tiverton, assaulted a child by beating him on October 28 last year.
He pleaded guilty and was committed to prison for 12 weeks suspended for 12 months.
The offence was deemed to be serious because of the circumstances in which he "fell asleep while cooking, causing a small fire, and assaulted a baby being held by a neighbour complaining about the blaze he had caused".
He did not face a separate penalty for failing without reasonable excuse to surrender to custody on two occasions. He will have to pay £25 in compensation to his victim.
