CONVICTED child killer Glenn Shackleton attacked his mother-in-law and butted her in the face after she spat on him on the steps of Blackburn County Court.

Blackburn magistrates heard that the attack took place when Shackleton was handcuffed to a custody officer after attending a court hearing.

He was convicted in October 1999 of the manslaughter of his 16-month-old son Jack and jailed for a total of seven years for that and two charges of cruelty.

Blackburn magistrates heard that in March, Shackleton was brought under escort to the county court. Philip Potter, prosecuting, said that during the hearing Shackleton had been subjected to abuse from Kathleen Amiri, his mother-in-law.

As he was leaving court, handcuffed to a Group 4 custody officer, Shackleton heard what he thought was the sound of Mrs Amiri spitting at him. He turned and butted her in the face, causing extensive bruising, Mr Potter said.

Sarah Perkins, defending, said Shackleton had been extremely emotional when she had spoken to him about the death of his son. She said the atmosphere had been highly charged when he appeared at the county court and his mother-in-law had made numerous comments. "He accepts that he totally lost it," said Miss Perkins. "He is extremely sorry for what happened and asks me to apologise to her."

Shackleton, 27, of Bar Street, Burnley, but formerly of Fielding Crescent, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm.

Sentencing him to six months to run concurrent to his current sentence, District Judge Jonathon Finestein said it had been a very serious incident but the sentence had to be viewed against the seven-year sentence Shackleton was currently serving.

"It is unlikely you will be released for at least another three years and it may be another four or five years from today's date," said Mr Finestein. "I am not in any way minimising the seriousness of this incident, but I have to look at the totality of the sentence you are serving.

"It is said it was an emotionally charged situation and your mother-in-law spat at you but the offence clearly merits a prison sentence."

Baby Jack died of a head injury after apparently being shaken violently. A post mortem examination revealed extensive trauma to the head, body surface and abdomen. His brother was also found to have bruising, large abrasions and a broken rib that may have resulted from rough handling.

At the time that Shackleton was tried Preston Crown Court was told that he and his wife, Georgina, 23, had five children. They had been removed from the parents' care but later on, following assessments, were gradually reintroduced to the couple. Jack was reintroduced in February and died in April.

Following the case Burnley MP Peter Pike said the system had failed baby Jack and that lessons needed to be learned from the tragic case.