A MAN who hit his “extremely vulnerable” six-year-old son has been given a suspended prison sentence.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, struck his son on the arm after becoming frustrated at his behaviour.

It left a red mark on the arm of the boy, who suffers from a variety of complex learning difficulties.

The mark was seen by the boy’s mother who reported it to the police.

Appearing at Southampton Magistrates’ Court, the defendant was give a 12 week prison sentence, which was suspended for 12 weeks.

The court heard how the boy had been taken to the defendant’s home for the weekend, as part of an agreement with the defendant’s ex-partner.

The boy was due return to his mother on Sunday, January 27.

But as the defendant began getting the six-year-old ready to return to his mother, the defendant said the boy began misbehaving.

He told police that he had put his clothes on and went into the kitchen to get his shoes, when he discovered the boy had taken his clothes off.

Prosecutor Rachel Standish told the court that the defendant then slapped the boy on his arm, causing a red welt.

She said that the boy appeared “withdrawn” when he got into the car and when she asked what was wrong the boy said he had been hit and showed her the mark.

The defendant initially denied assault, but later changed his plea to guilty.

In mitigation, the defendant’s defence solicitor said the assault was a one off incident and he was genuinely remorseful.

He said the defendant had meant to slap the boy’s leg with three fingers, but had accidentally made contact with the boy’s arm.

Magistrates ordered him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £115.