A WOMAN has been spared jail after admitting biting another woman's nose on a club dancefloor.

Victim Bethany Hardman needed surgery for her injury and Bolton Crown Court heard that she is so badly affected by her scarring that she has moved out of Bolton.

Stevie Chadwick pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm. Following a trial, a jury acquitted her of intentionally causing GBH.

At her sentencing hearing Judge Graeme Smith was told how 29-year-old Chadwick and Miss Hardman were both at Courtneys bar in Bolton in the early hours of December 27, 2017.

Helen Longworth, prosecuting, told how two men got into a disagreement and there was an argument between several people.

"Miss Hardman stood nearby minding her own business and not getting involved," said Miss Longworth.

"The friend she was standing with was shoved to the side and Miss Hardman was pulled down onto the floor."

A woman, later identified as Chadwick, grabbed hold of her hair and bit her hard on her nose.

Chadwick had already fallen to the floor and Miss Hardman landed on top of her.

Miss Hardman was taken to hospital where doctors found that she had a deep wound that went through the cartilage of her right nostril.

She had to have surgery to piece her nose back together using 15 stitches and has been left with a permanent scar.

Police arrested single mum Chadwick, who was described as being very intoxicated and denied biting Miss Hardman's nose.

"In interview, having been shown pictures of Miss Hardman, she told police she definitely did not inflict those injuries and would have remembered if she had," said Miss Longworth.

In a victim statement Miss Hardman told how she left Bolton six months later.

She wrote: "I'll never get over what happened to me as I have a constant reminder on scars on my face. Every single day I look at my face and often cry. No amount of make-up will conceal them."

Colin Buckle, defending, described the incident as "excessive self-defence" committed when Miss Hardman fell on top of Chadwick, leaving her feeling trapped.

He added that Chadwick, of Tempest Road, Lostock, is an "articulate, well-educated, hard working" woman who is "genuinely devastated and remorseful".

"It was an incident which neither Miss Hardman nor Miss Chadwick went to, it came to them," he said.

"They were swept up in it. They were two girls who have ended up on the floor through no fault of their own, desperately trying to get up," said Mr Buckle.

Judge Smith sentenced Chadwick to 20 months in prison, suspended for a year and ordered her to be electronically tagged and subject to a 9pm to 6am curfew for four months. She must also participate in 20 days of rehabilitation activities and pay £300 towards prosecution costs.

"In essence you over reacted to what was happening when you found yourself, essentially, trapped underneath Bethany Hardman," he said.