Woman in stamping attack is spared jail

A YOUNG woman who viciously stamped on another female in a Rotherham town centre brawl avoided jail after a court heard she was attacked for no reason.

Toni Crookes, 20, could be seen on CCTV pictures kicking drunken Esmerelda Brierley to the ground and then repeatedly stamping on her upper chest and neck.

It would normally have resulted in a jail term for Crookes, but Sheffield Crown Court was told it was Brierley, described as an “alcoholic depressive”, who was the aggressor.

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The incident took place at the County pub on October 18 last year.

CCTV pictures revealed Miss Brierley attacking Crookes inside the bar and having to be pulled away.

Outside, the victim was seen behaving in an “aggressive and violent way” towards Crookes after she left the bar, said prosecutor David Wain.

The two women scuffled in the road as bouncers tried to pull them apart.

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Crookes knocked Miss Brierley over and then stamped on her four times as she lay unconscious.

The victim was kept in hospital overnight for observation and suffered cuts and bruises.

Crookes, who has a previous conviction for battery when she was 15 years old, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.

She told police she had been drinking and was remorseful when shown the CCTV pictures.

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Dermot Hughes, for Crookes, said Miss Brierley was an “alcoholic depressive who has been banned from many pubs in the town centre.”

Judge Alan Goldsack said the CCTV evidence showed Crookes was subject to a “great deal of provocation”, although she had left the other woman unconscious on the ground.

She was given a 12-month community order and also told to attend a course for female offenders.

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