A furious mum threatened to kill another mother on the school run in an attack which saw her drag the woman by her ponytail.
Jessica Kitching, 25, pulled the victim to the ground by her hair and kicked her in the face in the attack in front of shocked pupils and parents outside Willow Bank School in Lancaster.
Preston Crown Court heard how Kitching followed her victim out of the playground before pouncing, kneeling on the woman’s chest before kicking her repeatedly in the face.
The court was told the victim begged Kitching to stop before the attacker was dragged off by a friend. As Kitching walked off she shouted: “I know where you live. I’ll f***ing kill you.”
The victim went to Lancaster Royal Infirmary with grazes and bruises to her face.
She was told by medics she had a suspected a hairline fracture to her nose, but the victim did not attend a follow up appointment 10 days later as she said she felt a lot better.
The court heard how the women’s two children were pals but had fallen out over the school holidays in 2023.
In a victim impact statement, the mum said she was embarrassed and humiliated and had considered changing her daughter’s school, but didn’t think it was appropriate, Leeds Live reports.
The same publication reports that a judge was told since the attack the two mums’ children have played together and there have been no further incidents.
Kitching has no previous convictions and the attack was out of character, the court heard.
The mum was unable to explain why she lost her temper, but told a probation officer she was ashamed of what she had done. She said she wanted to apologise to her victim.
Kitching pleaded guilty to ABH. Recorder Ayesha Siddiqi, sentencing, said: “This happened near a school and in the presence of children. You were unable to control your behaviour in front of the children.
“She must have been terrified by being pulled to the floor and kicked by you. There was the use of a shod foot as a weapon. This offence is so serious and your behaviour that day was so unacceptable that only a custodial sentence can be justified.
“I have heard you are effectively a single parent to your nine-year-old daughter. Your behaviour that day was appalling.”
The judge decided there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and Kitching’s child would suffer if her mother was sent to prison so she was sentenced to 30 weeks suspended for 12 months with 15 days rehabilitation activities and 60 hours of unpaid work.
