A court has heard a six-year-old girl who lived in Ipswich after arriving in the UK said her mother had caused an “injury to her tongue” with “scissors”.

The girl should now be cared for by relatives, a family court judge has ruled.

The youngster had also arrived at school with marks on her face and said her mother had “hit her with a belt”, Mrs Justice Theis was told.

Detail has emerged in a ruling by the judge following a family court hearing in London.

Mrs Justice Theis said the girl could not be identified.

The judge said the girl and her mother were Lithuanian.

She did not say where they lived but said they had spent time in Ipswich, and Thetford, after arriving in the UK several years ago.

Mrs Justice Theis said social workers had asked for a ruling on the girl’s future care.

The judge decided that the youngster should return to Lithuania and live with relatives.

She said Lithuanian judges would be better placed to deal with long-term issues regarding her care.

And she said the girl’s father lived in Lithuania.

“She was observed at school to have an injury to her face which she subsequently reported was caused by her mother, who hit her with a belt,” said Mrs Justice Theis.

“(She later) attended at school with an injury to her tongue.”

The judge added: “She appeared to report that the injury was caused by her mother, with scissors.”