A WOMAN attacked her partner with a glass ashtray on his birthday as a drunken argument turned violent, a court heard.

Lee Davis was transported to hospital by ambulance following the vicious assault by Chantelle Bayman, 39, and needed stitches to a head wound.

Bayman was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court today having admitted unlawfully wounding Mr Davis at a property in Kendal's County Mews on October 18.

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Bayman, formerly of Kendal but now of Egerton Court, Barrow, was given a 15-month jail sentence but this was suspended for two years. She received a 12-month community order, which included supervision, and must complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

The court heard there was a "physical struggle" between Bayman and M. Davis, which ended with her swinging an ashtray against his head.

The victim recalled seeing Bayman moving towards him out of the corner of his eye. "Within a split second of observing that, she hit him across the back of his head," said Tim Evans, prosecuting.

Mr Davis suffered a two-inch cut to his head and was treated at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

The court heard Bayman had a number of previous criminal convictions. These included a number of violent incidents - one at a Kendal pub where she grabbed Mr Davis.

Greg Hoare, defending, said the couple's relationship was very much at an end. Bayman had taken steps to ensure that the offence was not repeated. This included moving from Kendal to Barrow.

"She knows that this incident could really have been far more serious," said Mr. Hoare.

Judge Peter Hughes QC agreed to suspend Bayman's prison sentence. But he told her: "I hope that for a lady of your age that the penny drops and you realise that you have got to control your drinking. If you feel you are losing your temper, you have got to stand back and walk away."