A woman is facing trial accused of attacking five one-year-old babies at the nursery where she worked and force-feeding one until she was sick.

Laura Houston, 24, is said to have tripped up children, drawn on one little boy's face with a marker pen before pulling him around by his ankles and stuffing so much food down the throat of a little girl that she vomited.

Prosecutors claim she also pulled that girl violently by the arms and shook her, causing her to become distressed.

She is also accused of hitting another little boy, repeatedly pushing another baby girl and assaulting a boy by pushing him, tripping him up and causing him to hit his head off a chair.

Court papers allege Houston assaulted the babies, who were all aged just one at the time and cannot be named for legal reasons, between August 18, 2014 and February 2, 2015.

It is claimed she mistreated the children at a nursery in East Renfrewshire, where she worked as a nursery practitioner.

Houston, of Merrylee, Glasgow, is facing trial on five assault charges, one in relation to each child. The details of the case emerged when it called at Paisley Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Houston was not in attendance at the preliminary hearing but her lawyer pled not guilty on her behalf.

A trial has been scheduled for April, with a pre-trial hearing due to take place in March.