Eve Ritchie-Fallon denies slapping boy

Eve Ritchie-Fallon hit the boy as he smoked near a school gate, magistrates were told.

The victim was among a number of children who were approached by Ritchie-Fallon who ordered them to stop smoking.

Most did as they were told but one boy said he wanted to finish his cigarette.

Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard that Ritchie- Fallon slapped the youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Karen Fairley, prosecuting, said: “He was not the only one smoking. The defendant (Ritchie-Fallon) was aware of the situation and she went out to deal with it.

“She chose to go out and confront the pupils, most of them did as they were told.”

Mrs Fairley said Ritchie- Fallon had “lost control”.

She added: “The Crown completely accepts that this defendant is a person of good character.

People held her in high esteem and certainly the job she did must have been an extremely difficult but rewarding one. People felt that she did a very good job.”

Ritchie-Fallon, 57, of Long Close, Pennington, denies one charge of assault by beating.

The court heard that she had said in her police statement that “no such slap took place.”

Where she works and where the alleged attack took place cannot be reported for legal reasons.

In a filmed police interview played to the court, another teenager who claimed to have witnessed the attack, said: “She (Ritchie-Fallon) slapped a fag out of his mouth and then hit him.”

However, under cross-examination by Mark Elliott, defending, the witness, who cannot be identified, admitted that he had taken cannabis before going to school that day and only 50 per cent of what he said at the time could be believed.

“I was smoking weed then, my brain was a mash,” he said.

“I am not entirely sure whether it (the cigarette) was knocked out of his hand or his mouth. I was watching, but I wasn’t because I was walking on and glimpsing.”

He added: “I did not have a 100 per cent view or a 100 per cent recollection.”

Proceeding