A father turned his family's Christmas into tragedy when he snapped and shook his tiny baby repeatedly, York Crown Court heard yesterday.

Kevin John Holder, aged 34, severely and permanently brain-damaged his three-month-old baby Kira when his wife Wendy, who is herself permanently ill, left him with their children to do some last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve 1998, said Jeremy Richardson, prosecuting.

Soldier Holder was sentenced to 15 months in jail after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.

Judge Arthur Myerson QC said prison was inevitable because "children must be protected not only against those who are wantonly cruel, but also against those who fail in the end to control themselves when dealing with the very young."

He suspended the jail sentence for two years because Holder had been an excellent father up to Christmas Eve, because the judge wanted to bring a degree of stability to the family and because of Mrs Holder's multiple sclerosis.

Judge Myerson heard that Holder could be dismissed from the army because of the prison sentence and ordered that a transcript of his remarks be sent to the Ministry of Defence.

He said the offence was not a threat to good order and discipline and should not require him to leave the army.

Mr Richardson said that Holder was alone with Kira, her twin and an older daughter at about 9.15am at Tabard Avenue, Ripon.

"It appears he was at some stage trying to wind Kira. He became frustrated. He shook her violently five or six times with arms extended," said Mr Richardson.

"Her head moved with a considerable velocity and in a moment of anger, indeed as he was later to suggest to police, something within him just snapped."

Realising something was wrong with the child, Holder called an ambulance and the baby was taken into intensive care for 14 hours and remained in the hospital afterwards.

Social services were working with the family now and Holder had been unable to live with his wife and children since being arrested earlier this year.

For Holder, Miss Christine Colley said he would live with the consequences of what he had done for the rest of his life. He bitterly regretted what he had done.

Social services hoped that the family would get together again.

The court heard that Holder served in the Royal Engineers and that if he left the army his family would have to leave the home. http://home./

Judge Myerson was concerned that this could have an effect on his wife's health because although she suffers from multiple sclerosis it was in remission and stress might exacerbate it.

The court heard that baby Kira had a neurological problem before the shaking which meant she held her head to one side, but damage was definitely caused by Holder's actions.

Mr Richardson demonstrated in court how fast the baby's head flopped to and fro as she was shaken.

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