Paradise lost: Tiny island's dream crime-free run comes to an end

A father who throttled his autistic son has become the first man in living memory to commit a crime on a small, utopian island off the coast of Wales.

Police travelled 3km by ferry to Caldey Island, population 40, to arrest a father who had assaulted his misbehaving seven-year-old outside a chocolate factory run by local monks.

One of the island's long-term residents told The Guardian that the man's actions, in which he grabbed his son by throat and lifted him off the ground, had punctured the island's extraordinary crime-free streak.

"This is the first crime in court I can recall and I’ve been here more than 40 years," John Cattini, 65, the island’s commercial manager, told the paper.

"I’m glad to say I didn’t witness it but I’m sorry to say I was told about it. It is very sad. We are happy to say we live here very peacefully. This person was a visitor and is a sign of the modern world, I expect."

The island's harmonious population is comprised of monks and farmers.

Known for its seals and bird sanctuary, the island is roughly 2.4km long and 1.6km wide and is paved with a mere 274 metres of road.

During court proceedings, the prosecutor described how the father, 45, had assaulted the young boy after he ran out of patience during their tour of the chocolate factory.

"The man was said to be shouting at the boy before lifting him up with an outstretched arm by the throat," Dennis Davies told the court.

Mr Davies said the father, who was visiting from the Midlands in the UK, then "frog marched" his son away as a bystander yelled out "that's child abuse".

After his arrest, the father told police his son had ADHD and was on the autism spectrum.

The young boy did not like to queue and had been running up and down steps in the chocolate factory, he said.

The father, described as "deeply upset" by his lawyer, was released on bail until next month.

Some 3000 tourists visit Caldey Island between April and October.