An Addiscombe child-minder, found guilty of shaking to death an eight-month-old baby in her care, had a history of complaints about her aggressive conduct, a report has revealed this week.

The damning report was made public just hours after 54-year-old Linda Bayfield was found guilty of manslaughter by an Old Bailey jury on Tuesday (December 18).

Little Joshua Osborne died from brain and eye haemorrhages after Bayfield violently shook him in a "momentary loss of temper" at her Sissinghurst Road home on July 4, 2000.

The jury refused to accept Bayfield's claim that she only shook him twice "firmly, but not violently" after he stopped breathing.

An independent report into the little boy's death, undertaken by the Croydon Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC), this week revealed that Bayfield had a catalogue of complaints made about her to Croydon Social Services.

Bayfield, a registered childminder since 1975, had nine complaints made about "inappropriate chastisement" towards children in her care between 1980 and 1992.

Croydon Social Services attempted to de-register Bayfield in 1986 following an accusation of assault against a child.

But a lack of evidence resulted in a failed criminal prosecution and Bayfield was allowed to continue working as a childminder.

Overall the report found that Joshua's death could not have been predicted by any organisation involved with his family, the childminder or any of the children.

Joshua's parents, Libbie and Ken Osborne from Mulberry Lane in Addiscombe, has used Bayfield as their childminder since their five-year-old daughter Catrina was born.

Bayfield will be sentenced on Januray 18 2002.

December 19, 2001 09:30