Mother, 21, who smashed a glass in a woman's face is spared jail

Mother, 21, who smashed a cocktail glass in a woman’s face after getting drunk on gin is spared jail – after claiming she was ‘upset and anxious’ due to being separated from her five-month-old baby for the first time

• Lois Berry, 21, hurled at least two glasses at her victim in a pub in Merseyside
• The mother launched her attack after accusing her victim of snarling at her 

A mother who smashed a cocktail glass in another woman’s face has been spared jail after claiming she became ‘upset and anxious’ due to being separated from her baby for the first time. 

Lois Berry, 21, launched the unprovoked attack on Kayleigh Leather after accusing the woman of ‘snarling’ at her in a petty row over queue-jumping at The Railway pub in Sefton, near Liverpool, where she had been drinking gin and lemon.

The victim, who had up to three glasses hurled at her in the incident, suffered bruising and wounds around her left eye. She was also treated in hospital for a scratched cornea. Her current condition is not known. 

Berry, a former waitress who was made redundant last year, later claimed she had had been ‘upset and anxious’ due to having split from her partner and being separated from her five-month-old baby child for the first time.

At Sefton Magistrates’ Court, Berry admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work along with 20 days of rehabilitation with the probation service. She was also ordered to pay £200 in compensation to Miss Leather plus £234 in costs and a victim surcharge.

Lois Berry, 21, hurled a cocktail glass into another woman’s face at The Railway pub in Merseyside

The 21 year old said she became ‘upset and anxious’ due to recently splitting from her partner and being separated from her five month old baby for the first time

Emily Comer, prosecuting, said: ‘The circumstances of the offence relate to August 13 of last year at approximately 9.30pm.

‘Kayleigh Leather, was with her friends at the Railway pub for just over an hour when they noticed another female, not the defendant, trying to push up against her friend at the bar, forcing her to move out of the way.

‘Miss Leather and the two friends sat at a table when the aforementioned girl with a bandana and the defendant and another friend approached them. 

‘The defendant said to the complainant, “What’s your problem?” but the complainant said she did not have a problem.

‘The defendant then replied: ”Yes you do, you have been snarling at me all night.” 

‘Miss Berry then threw a glass towards Miss Leather and the complainant described a feeling of just being swilled before noticing there was blood on her face.

‘Her friends saw two more glasses thrown towards Miss Leather before the other females left.

‘Miss Leather was given first aid by staff. Another person gave the name of the defendant to staff which was passed on to police.

‘The defendant was identified by the complainant in an identification procedure at a later date. 

‘She gave a no comment interview and has given a guilty plea at the first hearing. Miss Berry has no previous convictions. She has not been before the court before. ‘

Berry smashed a glass in Kayleigh Leather’s face after drinking in The Railway pub (pictured) in Sefton, near Liverpool 

Berry, who admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, has abstained from drinking alcohol since the incident in August 2022

A probation report said that at the time of the offence, Berry had recently split up from her partner and that the 21-year-old had not been out drinking since her baby had been born five months previously.

‘In hindsight, she should not have had as much alcohol as she had,’ the report said. ‘The baby was being minded by a maternal grandmother, so that she could attend a family gathering.

‘She had been drinking gin and lemon since late afternoon but had been feeling quite anxious being apart from the baby and also distressed regarding the recent breakdown in the relationship. She perceived that the victim had been snarling at her for no apparent reason.

‘She recognises the impact of her offending could have been significantly more serious. There is no history of offending and one of the positive signs for change is that she has abstained from alcohol use. 

‘She accepts full responsibility for the impact of her offending on others, both those who witnessed the offence and the victim herself.

‘Although a custodial sentence would serve a punitive purpose and the protection of society for a short period it would serve little rehabilitation purpose and it would impact on the care on her daughter.’

The report said that Berry had worked in a restaurant until being made redundant earlier in the year and that she would welcome support to get back into employment. 

It was unusual for her to be so intoxicated, it read, but the incident has become a ‘catalyst for change.’

Berry was ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and told to pay £200 compensation to her victim plus £234 in costs and victim surcharges

Berry’s lawyer Gary Lawrenson said: ‘She is a very sensible young lady, a caring mum and a new mum with a caring family. 

‘She has three little sisters. They are at court today and Mum and Dad have come to court when they found out she was going to be sentenced today.

‘As the baby sister said, “We do everything together and go everywhere together.” That is a reflection of where they are from. This incident has had an impact obviously on the complainant but also on the defendant and her family.

‘She has been absolutely petrified over these proceedings. She is of exemplary character and has never put a foot wrong but she found herself in an unusual set of circumstances. 

‘I have come across a similar situation before where a young mum who had not been out for a couple of months, split up with the dad, had too much to drink and ended up in a mess.

‘This is a one-off and has been a salutary lesson to her. She is the sole carer for her daughter. She found herself being a mum which is not easy at any age – and certainly not at 21. Nothing would be gained from sending this young lady into custody.’

Sentencing Berry, JP Sharon Gill said: ‘We’ve considered this to be a very distressing matter seeing the injuries caused to Kayleigh Leather. It was not pleasant and it must have been very distressing for her, I am sure.

‘We did feel the offence passed the custody threshold but we [have] reasons to bring it down to a high-level community order.’ 

‘The things we have taken into consideration are your early guilty plea, remorse shown, the fact that you are a new mum and the difficulties of sole caring responsibilities, and you have no previous convictions.

‘We’ve also taken into account the steps you have taken to tackle the alcohol issues. All of this has gone in your favour but I must stress you were very close to a custodial sentence.’

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