Woman stabbed shop door after accusing man of looking at her the "wrong way"

Carla Couperthwaite spent five minutes trying to get into the Balaton convenience store on Halliwell Road on the evening of February 4.

Bolton Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of 22-year-old Couperthwaite using a knife to attack the door at 6.45pm before she turned her attention to another man who was walking past.

She attacked him, pushing him to the ground and appeared to be kicking him, although she did not use the knife on him.

Couperthwaite, of Halliwell Road, pleaded guilty to affray and possessing a knife.

Joshua Bowker, prosecuting, said after the attack on the second man the shop owner saw Couperthwaite on the ground and “frothing at the mouth”. Police arrived and arrested her at her mother’s house nearby.

The court heard that Couperthwaite has a lengthy criminal record, including for offences of violence.

But Nicholas Ross, defending, stressed: “The knife can be described as an eating knife rather than a cutting, kitchen knife.”

Appealing to Judge Timothy Stead not to send her to prison, Mr Ross added: “She understands she has a poor record overall.

“There are no excuses but she now wants to take opportunities.”

He added that Couperthwaite had been drinking when she encountered the man she chased.

“The male in question, she felt, had been looking at her on a number of occasions in a manner she felt was troubling,” said Mr Ross.

“She had seen the man staring at her several times previously. What she did then has absolutely no excuse. She is ashamed by her conduct.”

He added that Couperthwaite had a number of “challenges” in her life and had begun drinking at the age of 13 as a way of dealing with lack of self-esteem.

Judge Stead adjourned sentencing until today so he could examine the knife Couperthwaite used.

The judge commented that knife crime is a concerning national issue.

“The current climate amounts to it being mentioned every time you turn on the television news,” he said.