A couple waited outside a nightclub for two women and then battered them on the street.
Courtney Smith and Rhiannon Sweeney attacked Jorden Pilkington and Jeanette Wills outside Empire bar in St Helens on Saturday, October 26, 2019.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the pair targeted their victims after an argument inside the club and waited outside to attack them.
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Smith had denied wounding Ms Wills and Sweeney had denied assaulting Ms Pilkington but both were found guilty by a jury.
Family members cried and shouted “stay strong babe” as Smith was jailed today.
Andrew Jebb, prosecuting, told a jury in their trial that Ms Pilkington had been with a friend who was celebrating their 26th birthday and they then met up with Ms Wills earlier in the evening before going to Empire.
The trial heard there had been a clash between the group and Sweeney and Smith inside the club over a spilled drink, leading to an argument.
Ms Wills then tried to defuse the situation and security staff then escorted Smith and Sweeney out.
They then went around the outside of the club to a smoking area visible through the street and, after seeing Ms Pilkington, Ms Wills and their friend there, banged on the perspex barrier and demanded they come outside.
Security staff escorted Ms Pilkington and Ms Wills out shortly afterwards but Sweeney and Smith were waiting for them.
Smith, 21, targeted Ms Wills, punching her in the head multiple times and leaving her with a perforated eardrum.
Sweeney, 21, punched Ms Pilkington at the same time before security staff saw the incident and intervened.
Speaking during their sentencing hearing this week, Mr Jebb read statements from both Ms Wills and Miss Pilkington in which they detailed the continued impact of the assault on their lives.
Ms Wills said she continued to suffer from muffled hearing and pain in her ear, though doctors said her ear had now healed.
Ms Pilkington said she had given up her job as a swimming instructor because of the attack and now feared going out socialising at night.
Claire Jones, defending Smith, said her client was remorseful and appealed to the judge not to send her to prison.
Ms Jones said Smith’s involvement in the case was extremely out of character and pointed to her engagement in a wide range of charity work and references from employers to highlight her previous good character.
She said Smith had already lost her job at a nursery as a result of her conviction and was committed to turning her life around, pointing to a probation report which classified her as at a low risk of reoffending.
Ms Jones said: “In relation to this defendant, this is someone who clearly needs the support of probation, who needs their support to look into this offence and its causes and to ensure that she does not come before the courts again.”
However, Judge Cummings said the seriousness of Smith’s attack, combined with the fact that she carried it out on the "entirely blameless" Ms Wills, meant only immediate custody was appropriate.
Referring to Ms Wills, he said: “She had done absolutely nothing to you or to your partner.
“She acted as a peacemaker and you decided to launch a vicious and unprovoked assault on her.”
Jo Maxwell, defending Sweeney, said she was fully prepared for the possibility of prison but had continued to work in the meantime and pointed to her lack of convictions in the two years and four months since the attack.
In addition, Ms Maxwell said: “There is remorse that she has expressed towards myself for the injury that was caused to Miss Pilkington.”
Judge Cummings told Sweeney she had narrowly avoided prison but said she should “be in no doubt” that if she committed another offence in the next two years that she would go to jail.
Smith, of Elmsfield Close, Thatto Heath, St Helens, was jailed for 12 months.
Sweeney, of Princess Drive, Yew Tree, was handed a nine-month jail term, suspended for two years.
