A single mother of two from Warrington who glassed a stranger in a pub on her birthday walked free from court today (Friday) because she has two young children.
A judge told Zoe Allen, “If it had not been for the fact you have two children to look after you would be going to prison today.
“People who glass people in public houses and cause injuries to their face as you did deserve to go to prison,” said Recorder Paul Taylor.
He pointed out that it was lucky that the glass had not hit him in the victim’s eye.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Allen threw a tumbler in the victim’s face after he told her she knew nothing about mental health problems.
Allen, 32, of Pendlebury Street, Latchford, Warrington, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.
Steven McNally, prosecuting, said that the incident happened in The Bridges pub on August 23, 2021 and was captured on CCTV.
The victim, Luke Callan, was there with a friend and they sat on stools at a high table. Allen and a girlfriend were also present moving around the bar and at one stage came over and began chatting to them.
The two women left the bar but returned later and again began chatting to them. Allen began talking to Mr Callan about mental health issues and having had some of his own he told her, “You have no idea about bad mental health.”
Allen threatened to glass him and spat in his face and Mr Callan pushed her away and she threw her glass and contents which struck him in the face leaving him with blood pouring from his wounds, said Mr McNally.
The two women immediately left but her friend was later identified as she had earlier asked about the possibility of a job in the pub and given her details. Allen voluntarily went to police the day after on November 10.
The victim suffered a two and a half centimetre cut which needed two stitches as well as small cuts, bruising around his eye and tenderness to his left cheekbone.
When interviewed Allen said he had pushed her and told her to go away and she “deliberately swilled him with her drink. She said she could not remember it coming it out of her hand and had not noticed any injuries.”
In an impact statement Mr Callan said he had been left with some facial scarring and his mental health had been adversely affected.
Kyra Badman, defending, said that it was a rare night out for the defendant and she was celebrating her birthday. She “doesn’t really drink alcohol” and had a 10-year-old child and a ten-month-old baby.
“She is genuinely mortified by what happened and feels extreme shame and extreme sympathy for the victim that he has to live with scarring.”
Miss Badman said if jailed Allen would lose her employment as an insurance company receptionist, which she is just about to resume after her maternity leave. Her children would have to go to her parents and her eldest child would have the disruption of having to change schools.
Recorder Taylor sentenced Allen to 16 months imprisonment suspended for two years had ordered her to pay £2000 compensation. He also imposed a six month curfew between 7 – 6.30 am.
