A TODDLER needed skin grafts and multiple operations after suffering "significant burns" when a Dunfermline woman left him near boiling water.

Concerned staff from NHS Fife reported the incident to the police and Kayleigh Glover, who also admitted biting the small child to "correct" his behaviour, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

Glover, 22, of Gilfillan Road, previously admitted that on August 7, 2017, she wilfully ill-treated and neglected a child in her care in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering by biting him on the body to his injury and leaving him unattended with hot water, whereby he sustained significant burns on his body.

NHS staff said the child had third degree burns with blisters found on his hands and feet following the incident.

They also found a bite on his right forearm.

Glover told police and social workers that she had filled a baby bath using a kettle as she did not have any hot water at the time.

"She poured the water from the kettle into the baby bath and went into the kitchen to put it back," said Procurator Fiscal Clare Kennedy.

"She then heard the child screaming and found the bath tipped on its side.

"The child had tipped it on himself."

Ms Kennedy explained that Glover had bitten the child after he had bitten her earlier in the day.

"She said she had not intended to injure him, but it had been an attempt to correct his behaviour," she said.

Defence solicitor Brian Tait told the court that the child had undergone numerous operations because of his injuries, which had included skin grafts.

He said Glover had decided to run the child a bath because he had food all over himself after being in the care of another person.

"She had no gas to heat the water," Mr Tait said.

"The child had been in the sitting room and somehow got to the bath when her back was turned. He managed to tip the bath over and was burned."

He added that Glover was seeing her "shortcomings" from the amount of hospital appointments the child still had to attend and it was "heartbreaking" for her to see.

Sheriff Simon Collins said he did not know how Glover thought it was conceivable to bite a child of that age.

"This is an extremely serious matter where there was serious injury to the child," he said.

"It's a very concerning case but there has been an acceptance that this was criminal negligence rather than intent.

"In the circumstances there is an alternative to custody, but it has to marked given the seriousness of the case."

Sheriff Collins sentenced Glover to 140 hours of unpaid work.