A furious woman armed herself with a kitchen knife and flew at her neighbours while making "stabbing motions" following a row about parking.
Catherine Hunter, 38, lunged at next-door neighbour Laura McGee and her brother Paul Heeley as they stood outside their house on Calveley Avenue, Eastham, on the morning of May 17.
The drunk mum had flown into a rage after objecting to the pair's parking and began "making threats with her fists clenched". When Mr Heeley stepped in front of his sister to protect her, Hunter attacked him, tearing out a clump of his hair.
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She then kicked Ms McGee's car, damaging the passenger door, before going back into her house and emerging a short time later with a large kitchen knife.
Prosecutor Miss Smith said: "She ran at Mr Heeley and Ms McGee with the knife in her hand, and was making stabbing motions with it. She continued shouting abuse at them and making threats."
She appeared at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, June 26, where she pleaded guilty to a string of offences including assault causing actual bodily harm, possession of a bladed article, posession of an offensive weapon, affray, common assault, and criminal damage.
Prosecutor Miss Daniels said police were called at around 9.50am by a passing driving instructor, who saw Hunter armed with the blade in the middle of the street.
After chasing Mr Heeley and Ms McGee with the knife, she went back into her house a second time and came out with a garden hoe "which she was swinging as a weapon".
The attack took place while Hunter was serving a suspended sentence for a similar crime committed in April 2022, when she swung a knife at a male neighbour and screamed abuse at him before smashing the windscreen of his car.
In a statement, Mr Heeley said: "She made threats to me and my family about having her son attack us, and setting my sister's house on fire. I'm constantly worried for the safety of my sister, her partner and my young niece and nephew. Even when I visit them, I find myself with a feeling of dread each time there's the slightest sound, and I'm constantly checking the door to see if it's locked."
Ms McGee said: "While (Hunter) is here, this is no longer a safe place for us or our children. our lives were just moments away from devastation. We live in fear of what may happen next when she is released."
Mr Woods, defending, said Hunter, known locally as Katie, had spiralled into alcohol addiction after her son was injured in a "catastrophic" car accident in 2019, and was struggling with her mental health.
He said: "The events on May 27 were effectively the meltdown in relation to all her problems. She had mental health problems, she had been drinking, and she felt the other people were saying things about her and criticising her. She bitterly regrets her actions."
Judge Glyn Jones said: "As a result of what happened, a number of people have been significantly impacted as a result of your behaviour.
"Mr Heeley indicated 'the violence escalated further when she returned from her home with a knife attempting to stab me, and then when she came out with the garden hoe'. That, in my view, clearly indicates that some thought, some planning, albeit in a drunken haze, may have occurred.
"Mr Heeley and his family were extremely worried. He's not only suffered physical harm, he's suffered the psychological harm of knowing this could have been significantly worse."
He sentenced Hunter to a total of one year and six months in prison, a serious violence reduction order (SVRO), and a restraining order banning her from contacting Mr Heeley and Ms McGee. She must also serve five months of the eight month suspended prison term she was given for affray, common assault, criminal damage and possession of a bladed article in April 2022.
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