Mum launched hammer attack on woman who had an affair with her boyfriend

A woman stormed into a pub and angrily swung a hammer at another woman’s face in a ‘completely out of the blue’ violent attack.

Mother-of-two Kirsty Allen heard that her boyfriend had been secretly cheating on her with the other woman – prompting her to grab a hammer and attack a woman, Hull Crown Court heard.

Allen, 31, of Hessle, admitted assaulting the woman, causing actual bodily harm, as well as offences of affray and possessing a hammer as an offensive weapon on April 5 last year.

Emma Handley, prosecuting, said that Allen found out that, while she was pregnant with her daughter, her boyfriend had been cheating on her with the other woman.

Allen first asked the woman about it on March 13 last year but she did not make any threats on that occasion, until April 5, when she went to Fiveways Hotel to confront the woman and her cousin.

The court heard Allen walked past a pool table, where a child was playing, and went up to the other woman, who was sitting with her back to her. She swung the hammer at the woman’s face, hitting her on the left side of her face.

The victim screamed as Allen yelled: ‘I’ll do you in. I will kill you.’

A family at the pub was seen fleeing as other customers intervened to remove Allen from the pub.

The victim suffered swelling, a cut and a depressed fracture to her cheekbone. Days later, she called the police, leading to Allen’s arrest on April 28.

The victim later said that she had been severely affected by the attack, which was ‘completely out of the blue’ and ‘completely blindsided’ her.

‘I have no idea what instigated this behaviour or caused her to get so angry,” she said. ‘I am worried that something like this will happen again.

‘I am scared to be alone outside the house in general. I fear repercussions for me and my family. I am resorting back to nervous habits of mine. I am normally chatty and outgoing but now I am constantly subdued. I worry about the emotional distress I am causing my family and friends. My social anxiety is back.

‘Mentally, I feel in a very low place. I never thought I would be the victim of such a vicious assault.’

Allen had convictions for 11 previous offences between 2008 and 2010, including assault when she was a youth.

Chaynee Hodgetts, mitigating, The court heard Allen’s boyfriend cheated on her with the victim while Allen was pregnant with her daughter, who is now 15 months old. She also has an 11-year-old son.

‘The defendant is ashamed of what she has done. She accepts that she should not have taken the hammer and it was a stupid thing to have done,’ said Miss Hodgetts.

‘It was a household item rather than a weapon. She is remorseful for what she has done and does very much wish to draw a line under it. She is under no illusion as to the gravity of what occurred.’

The court heard Allen had been ‘worried’ she might have contracted a sexually transmitted disease because of her boyfriend’s behaviour with the woman.

Judge Mark Bury heard Allen claimed that the other woman had been ‘taunting’ her about the cheating. The court was shown CCTV which was ‘shocking’ to watch.

Judge Bury said: ‘Appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody for an offence of this severity.’

Allen, who had been on bail, was jailed for 18 months.

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