A man kicked a seven-year-old boy with brittle bones disease - leaving him with a broken leg.

The child was unable to walk after the attack by Mark Taylor, 43, in Dundee during 2015.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard how the victim didn't see a doctor until ten days later after being told to claim he didn't know what happened to him.

The boy's father at one point noticed he was in pain but put the discomfort down to his condition.

When the child was later seen by a doctor, no mention was made of the attack and no fracture was initially diagnosed.

However, two days later he could only crawl due to the pain and was taken back to hospital.

An x-ray confirmed an undisplaced fracture of the boy's fibula and treatment was carried out.

Fiscal depute Nicola Gillespie told Dundee Sheriff Court that the attack remained a secret for more than two years until the boy was interviewed by police and social workers investigating another allegation against Taylor, of which he was eventually cleared.

The boy told officers that Taylor had caused the injury.

Taylor later phoned the boy's father and claimed it had simply been a "tap" on the leg that had caused the severe injury sustained by the child.

Taylor, of Dundee, pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of assault to severe injury committed between April 26 and May 4 2015.

Defence solicitor Brian Bell said: "The child had brittle bones disease which on one view aggravates the matter.

"It is clear the accused shouldn't have been kicking a child in the first place and knowing the medical history knew the potential consequences of the kick.

"It was a gross act of stupidity that has a significant impact on the child."

Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC imposed a community payback order with 250 hours unpaid work.

She said: "In all the circumstances I have no doubt that this is a serious enough offence that would warrant custody, but my view is there is an alternative to that today."