A MUM-OF-THREE has been jailed for four years after a jury convicted her of glassing another mother following an incident between their children.

Bolton Crown Court heard how victim Rebecca Winnard was smashed in the face with a glass by drunken Gemma Simpson in an unprovoked and violent attack at a Little Lever pub on September 6 last year.

Ms Winnard was left with a swelling and a cut face, needing facial surgery two months later as a result of scar tissue.

During a three day trial the jury heard how both Ms Winnard and 25-year-old Simpson had been guests at a friend’s barbecue five weeks before the attack.

The two women knew each other, but not well, and Simpson became upset when her daughter bit Ms Winnard’s son.

Alaric Bassano, prosecuting, said Ms Winnard tried to play down the incident, but Simpson left the party in a bad mood despite the victim asking her not to go.

The two women encountered each other again in the early hours of September 6.

The jury was told how 27-year-old Ms Winnard enjoyed a pleasant Saturday night out in Bolton and, at 12.30am, decided to get a taxi to the New Inn on Church Street, Little Lever, for one last drink near her home.

But when she arrived last orders had been called and so she sat chatting with others at a table instead.

However, Simpson, still dwelling on the barbecue incident, was also in the pub and was drunk.

Unprovoked, she approached the victim’s table, aggressively telling her: “You’re a mouthy bitch!”

Shocked Ms Winnard asked her what she meant and Simpson launched into a tirade about the barbecue, claiming her own daughter’s behaviour had been out of character and the child had been provoked.

A barmaid told the court that she overheard Simpson alleging Ms Winnard was looking “smug” and then, without warning, she picked up a glass and forcefully smashed it into the victim’s face.

Simpson left the pub, but when she was arrested later she told police she had been drinking since 6pm and could remember little of what had happened, although she claimed she had not intended to harm anyone.

Simpson, of Lancaster Drive, Little Lever, admitted injuring Ms Winnard but denied intentionally causing grievous bodily harm. However, the jury unanimously found her guilty of the more serious offence.

Judge Graeme Smith, sentencing her to four years in jail, told Simpson that he accepted the attack had not been premeditated and, in deciding the length of her prison term, had taken into account her previous good character.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Con Stuart Round from Bolton police said: “This is a tragic case that has resulted in a young woman going to prison for a lengthy sentence.”

"Simpson used a glass as a weapon which resulted in the victim requiring plastic surgery to try and rectify those injuries. She refused to admit her guilt and put the victim and witnesses through the ordeal of a trial process.

“I would like to take this opportunity to praise the victim and witnesses for their courage and bravery throughout the case."