CLOVER — Deputies accuse a Clover father of drunkenly hitting his three children and leaving one with a busted lip on Saturday.

Joshua Wayne Ballard, 30, is charged with three counts of cruelty to children, according to a York County Sheriff’s report. At about 8:30 p.m., a 49-year-old man called police to say he saw Ballard hit the children on the back of their heads while they were at his house.

When police arrived at the home, they saw the three children, ages 10, 8 and 5, sitting on the couch huddled together, the report states. The 10-year-old girl had blood on her shirt and a swollen bottom lip.

The children told police the girl sneezed, which caused her nose to bleed, and then bit her lip, the report states. Police also saw that her upper lip was also busted.

A “grossly intoxicated” Ballard told police that he drank two beers and did not assault his children, the report states. The man who called police gave authorities a statement. The Department of Social Services interviewed the children, realizing their story about the injury and the injury itself “did not match up,” the report states.

Police escorted the children home, where DSS planned to install a safety plan with their caretaker, the report states. Ballard was arrested and taken to the York County Detention Center, where he remained Monday morning on a more than $3,200 bond.