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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Alan McEwen

Scots cleaner who glassed woman in row over seats at Edinburgh bar dodges jail

A cleaner dodged a jail term but received a 12-month bar ban for glassing another woman in a row over a seat.

Kerry-Isa Bell smashed a pint glass over the victim’s head in The Rat Pack piano bar in Edinburgh’s West End.

Bell, 41, left Martina Lyon needing treatment for scalp and cheek wounds after the horror attack.

She appeared for sentencing at the city’s sheriff court on Monday after pleading guilty to assault to injury at a previous hearing.

Sheriff Chris Dickson placed the mum on a year-long supervision order and ordered her to carry out 165 hours of unpaid work.

The sheriff also banned Bell from entering The Rat Pack for the same period, and imposed a £1000 compensation order to be paid to Martina.

Earlier defence agent Paul Smith, acting for Bell, conceded it was a “very serious matter” and the custody threshold had been met.

The court was told Bell, who works cleaning holiday lets, had two previous convictions for violence.

At a hearing in February, the court was told Bell had been in the Shandwick Place venue with a pal and they were “politely” told that some seats were occupied.

Later Bell, of Glenrothes, Fife, became enraged and swung the glass at Martina, striking her on the head.

Fiscal depute Alan Wickham said Bell and her friend arrived at The Rat Pack at around 9.30pm and put their bags on seats occupied by Martina and another person.

Mr Wickham said: “The accused and her friend were politely informed the seats were taken, but they were happy to look after their bags if they wished to leave them there.”

The court was told Bell’s pal tried to remove one of the seats from the table at 11pm and was again told it was being used.

Mr Wickham said Bell became “irate and aggressive” and Martina, seeing the situation was “escalating”, went to speak with the manager.

He added: “At this time, the accused has been holding a pint glass in her hand. She has thereafter swung her right hand holding the glass and hit the side of Ms Lyons’ head.”

Police arrived at 11.15pm and Bell was arrested and taken to St Leonards police station.

Martina was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Mr Wickham said, and was found to have a 1cm laceration on her scalp which was closed with two staples.

He said a “superficial” laceration to her cheek was closed with two steri strips.

The incident took place on May 7 last year.

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