Woman attacked her lesbian lover with plank of wood

Joanne Louise Taylor was at the home of her partner Abigail Smith on 4th August when the incident occurred.

Mansfield Magistrates’ Court was told on Wednesday 8th October that both the women had been involved in the altercation but that only Taylor had ended up in the dock.

Taylor and Miss Smith had spent most of the previous day drinking heavily, along with a third woman, the court was told.

Taylor had then gone back to her own home but had returned at 7.30am the following morning and had carried on drinking with the other woman.

An altercation had then erupted after Miss Smith had accused Taylor of being responsible for the death of her father.

They had then attacked each other with planks of wood, and Taylor had admitted striking Miss Smith around the body. But she had denied claims that she had used the wood to beat Miss Smith around the head.

Taylor also admitted two counts of shoplifting in a separate incident, as well as resisting arrest and swearing at police, the court was told.

Defence lawyers said that Taylor had had a difficult life and that her own father had died two years earlier as a result of alcohol abuse.

Taylor had then started drinking heavily herself to cope, the court was told.

She was jailed for a total of 10 weeks for the assault and a further two weeks for the shop thefts.