Kirsty Allen pictured outside Hull Crown Court (Image: HULL LIVE / MEN MEDIA)
A pregnant woman stormed into a pub and angrily swung a hammer at another woman’s face in a violent attack because she believed her boyfriend was cheating on her.
Mother-of-two Kirsty Allen heard that her boyfriend had been secretly cheating on her with the other woman and she became so enraged that she grabbed the hammer and went to the pub to get some quick revenge for the betrayal, Hull Crown Court heard.
Allen, 31, of Hessle, was jailed after admitting assaulting the woman, causing actual bodily harm, as well as offences of affray and possessing a hammer as an offensive weapon on April 5 last year.
Emma Handley, prosecuting, said that Allen found out that, while she was pregnant with her daughter, her boyfriend had been cheating on her with the other woman. Allen first asked the woman about it on March 13, 2024 but she did not make any threats on that occasion.
On April 5, the woman went to the Fiveways Hotel, in Boothferry Road, west Hull, East Yorks, with her cousin. Allen and another woman went to the pub and she was holding a hammer.
Allen appeared at Hull Crown Court (Image: MEN Media)
Allen walked past a pool table, where a child was playing, and went up to the other woman, who was sitting with her back to her. She swung the hammer at the woman’s face, hitting her on the left side of her face.
The victim immediately screamed out in pain. Allen shouted: “I’ll do you in. I will kill you.” Allen’s cousin stood up and tried to restrain Allen, who swung the hammer towards the other woman on at least two occasions.
“Members of the public intervened to remove the defendant from the pub,” said Miss Handley. A family was seen fleeing from the area. The victim went to hospital for treatment to her injuries, including swelling and a depressed fracture to her cheekbone and a 1cm cut.
Two days later, the woman was persuaded by her friend to call the police. Allen was arrested on April 28. During police interview, she made no comment to all questions.
The victim later said that she had been severely affected by the attack, which was “completely out of the blue” and “completely blindsided” her. “I have no idea what instigated this behaviour or caused her to get so angry,” she said.
“I am worried that something like this will happen again, I am scared to be alone outside the house in general. I fear repercussions for me and my family. I am resorting back to nervous habits of mine.”
Allen had convictions for 11 previous offences between 2008 and 2010, including assault when she was a youth.
Chaynee Hodgetts, mitigating, said that the dispute arose after it was said that Allen’s boyfriend cheated on her with the other woman while Allen was pregnant with her daughter, who was now aged 15 months. She also had a son aged 11.
“The defendant is ashamed of what she has done,” said Miss Hodgetts. Some injury was caused to the victim’s face but no surgery was needed. “She accepts that she should not have taken the hammer and it was a stupid thing to have done,” said Miss Hodgetts.
Judge Mark Bury said that Allen found out shortly before the violent incident that her boyfriend had been having sex with the woman.
Allen swung a hammer at the woman’s head in a pub and CCTV pictures were “quite shocking” to watch. “Appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody for an offence of this severity,” said Judge Bury.
Allen, who had been on bail, was jailed for 18 months.