AN ALCOHOLIC mother-of-four fainted in the dock as she was given a prison sentence for assaulting a teenager in a feud over a former boyfriend.Hayley Nicholls, 33, of Frobisher Road, Ipswich had previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm after the attack last year.

AN ALCOHOLIC mother-of-four fainted in the dock as she was given a prison sentence for assaulting a teenager in a feud over a former boyfriend.

Hayley Nicholls, 33, of Frobisher Road, Ipswich had previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm after the attack last year.

She was joined in the dock by a 17-year-old co-defendant - who can not be named because of her age - who had previously pleaded guilty to affray.

The court heard how Nicholls had broken up with her boyfriend who had then started a relationship with the 16-year-old victim soon after.

Lindsay Cox, prosecuting, told the court Nicholls approached the victim as she walked along Raeburn Road in Ipswich, threatening to knock her out, before slapping her across the face.

Miss Cox continued: "Nicholls asked (the victim) for her mobile phone and said she would kill her if she didn't hand it over. Nicholls looked through the text messages to find any from her ex-boyfriend."

Nicholls' co-defendant, who was 16 at the time, then became involved.

The court heard how she grabbed the victim by the hair and kneed her in the face. She then punched the victim above the eye and made threats to her.

Miss Cox said: "All the time, she was encouraged to do so by Nicholls."

She said the victim, who described the incident as terrifying, incurred a sore nose and face in the attack and had since suffered with trouble sleeping and headaches.

Simon Spence, mitigating, said it was the sort of bullying incident more associated with teenagers.

Mr Spence said Nicholls had led a chaotic lifestyle and had abused alcohol and amphetamines. He told the court it had stemmed from a violent upbringing at the hands of her father.

However, Mr Spence said a custodial sentence would have a devastating effect on her children, who would be taken into care.

Shauna Ritchie, mitigating for the teenage defendant, said she had apologised to the victim herself the following day.

She said: "She's a young lady who knew from the outset she had done wrong. She does not seek to shirk responsibility for her actions."

Sentencing, Mr Recorder John Foy QC told Nicholls it had been an unprovoked attack on a 16-year-old girl who was simply walking home.

Mr Foy sentenced Nicholls to 12 months for the attack, plus two months for breaking a previous community punishment order and another month which had been suspended from a previous conviction, all to run consecutively.

He sentenced the 17-year-old co-defendant to a two-month supervision order, and said: "I accept you are in a different position to Nicholls and I hope you understand how close you came to prison.

"You expressed your regret and recognise that what you did was wrong. You were led on by a much older woman."