Woman bit committee member's hand while being thrown out of working men's club

An intoxicated woman bit and punched a committee member of a working men's club after she was thrown out for tipping over tables and shouting at people. The victim was left with a broken finger as a result of the assault.

Helen Lawrence, 46, attacked the woman at Tonyrefail Workingmen's Club on July 13 last year after the defendant's drunken antics led to her being asked to leave. Lawrence had already been banned from the club due to her past behaviour.

A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Thursday heard Lawrence and her friend were causing a disturbance near the ground floor bar where they had been tipping over tables, spilling drinks and shouting at people. The defendant was intoxicated and had also taken pregabalin.

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When the committee member approached Lawrence, she was lying on the floor with a table on top of her. The victim told the defendant and her friend they had to leave and tried to escort her from the building. Lawrence started shouting and swearing at the woman, and told her "I'll knock your head off".

Outside the club, the defendant remained near the entrance and was pacing and pointing her finger in the committee member's face. She rummaged through a plastic bag containing empty cans. The victim ushered Lawrence away from the club as people began to gather round, but as she walked back towards the club the defendant tried to jump onto her back.

Prosecutor Ieuan Bennett said Lawrence punched the woman twice to the face, hitting her in the lip and eye. She held onto the victim's hands and bit her on her hand, causing cuts. The defendant also pulled back her fingers, causing one of her little fingers to break.

Witnesses intervened, pulling the victim away from Lawrence, who left the area. She was taken to hospital where she was treated for a bite to her left hand, which required hepatitis and tetanus vaccines, and a fractured little finger.

Lawrence, of Heol y Mynydd, Hendreforgan, Gilfach Goch, was found sleeping on a living room sofa and arrested at her home by police. She later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The court heard the defendant has previous convictions for attempted GBH, violent disorder, criminal damage, battery, using threatening/abusive/insulting words or behaviour and assaulting an emergency worker.

In a victim personal statement, the victim said: "Lawrence has caused me to feel fearful as we live in the same area. I am scared I will have another altercation with her. I have trouble sleeping and cannot keep the incident out of my head. I keep thinking she may retaliate further due to making a complaint against her. The defendant and her family live in the area and I see them multiple times and worry they may recognise me or my family and confront us. I am suffering from anxiety and it made my mental health worse.

"I broke my little finger on my right hand. My finger doesn't feel the same, I have numbness, my finger swells up and it was strapped up for six weeks because of pain. I have had to adapt how I hold things due to limited movement. I don't go out as much as I used to."

In mitigation, Andrew Kendal said his client had suffered a bereavement at the time of the offence, and the heart of her issues stemmed from alcohol and substance misuse. He said the defendant had expressed remorse for her actions, but having been remanded in custody after failing to turn up to court, she has been able to detox from alcohol and feels better for it.

Sentencing, Judge Daniel Williams said there was "no prospect of rehabilitation" until the defendant "faced her demons". He sentenced Lawrence to nine months imprisonment, and made her subject to a restraining order for five years.

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