Woman spared jail after plunging wine glass into her boyfriend's face

Soul music fan, 57, is spared jail after plunging red wine glass into her boyfriend’s face in ‘moment of madness’ as they rowed outside village pub disco

  • Denise Bintcliffe attacked James Doyle after he hit her in Bramhall, Cheshire
  • Bintcliffe said she ‘didn’t know’ why she attacked her partner of 17 years 
  • She admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm at court in Manchester
  • But she was freed with eight months custody, suspended for 18 months 

A soul music fan has been spared jail after plunging a red wine glass into her boyfriend’s face in a ‘moment of madness’ as they rowed outside a village pub disco.

Denise Bintcliffe, 57, instinctively smashed the glass over James Doyle forehead after he slapped her when they began arguing in front of fellow regulars during a soul and funk evening.

Police arrived at the Crown and Conspirator pub in the leafy village of Bramhall, Cheshire, to find Bintcliffe looking on as Mr Doyle held his head in his hands whilst bar staff applied napkins to stem the bleeding.

When asked about why she carried out the attack, Bintcliffe who had been dating Doyle for 17 years said: ‘I don’t know why I hit him. I just can’t believe that I’ve done it.’

Mr Doyle a foreman for an energy firm was taken to Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport where he required six stitches for his wound. 

He takes medication to thin his blood and lost so much of it in the attack he was on the verge of needing a transfusion.

He declined to give a statement to police about the incident and it not known what the row was about.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Bintcliffe of Cheadle Hulme, Stockport faced jail after she admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm but was freed with eight months custody, suspended for 18 months after Mr Doyle said he wanted to see her again.

Denise Bintcliffe, 57, instinctively smashed the glass over James Doyle forehead after he slapped her when they began arguing in front of fellow regulars during a soul and funk evening

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Bintcliffe of Cheadle Hulme, Stockport faced jail after she admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm but was freed with eight months custody, suspended for 18 months after Mr Doyle said he wanted to see her again

The fight broke out when couple went out together for a soul funk disco at the pub on October 2 last year. 

Initially they and pubgoers could be seen enjoying the music with some dancing in front of the bar.

But video footage played in court showed Bintcliffe thrusting her wine glass into Mr Doyle’s forehead before he clasped his head in his hands.

A woman standing to the other side of him and staff straightaway gathered around to assist him, applying napkins to try and stem the bleeding.

Miss Eleanor Myers, prosecuting, said the defendant remained at the scene until paramedics arrived and that police arrived around 11pm.

‘The officer explained that he wanted to speak to the defendant regarding the incident,’ Miss Myers said, ‘She replied ‘Yes, that’s fine, I’ve done it, so I understand.’

‘She was taken for questioning to the back of the police car and was visibly upset. She had a cut to her right hand and had plasters.

‘An ambulance arrived shortly afterwards to take Mr Doyle to hospital following which the defendant was arrested. She continued to speak to the police and said, ‘I don’t know why I hit him. I just can’t believe that I’ve done it.”

Mr Doyle sustained a cut to an artery on his forehead and hospital medics ‘struggled’ to control the blood flow.

‘It took applying pressure for over an hour in total and there was a significant amount of blood loss,’ Miss Myers said, ‘It was just after 4.30am on October 3 that the bleeding appeared to have stopped.’

The victim was left with swelling, pain around the brow and cheekbones. Bintcliffe was formally interviewed but gave no comment.

In mitigation her counsel Miss Niamh McGinty said her client who had no previous convictions posed ‘a low risk of reoffending’. She said the couple had not seen each other since the incident due to bail conditions but Mr Doyle had told friends that he wanted to see her again.

The court heard Bintcliffe suffers from several health issues including brain damage, which she sustained after complications of a medical operation, as well as epilepsy and depression.

‘She is deeply ashamed of her behaviour,’ Miss McGinty said, ‘She was immediately horrified by what she had done and she is very much aware of how serious it could have been. 

‘It can be properly described as a moment of madness. She struggles to properly manage conflict situations and that’s something she needs to have assistance with.’

Bintcliffe was also ordered to complete a ‘Skills for Relationships’ 30 Rehabilitation Requirement Days and pay a £156 victim surcharge

Sentencing Judge Paul Lawton told Bintcliffe: ‘That night you were drinking in the Crown and Conspirator pub in Bramhall. 

‘Everybody on CCTV appeared to be having a good time. You appeared to be having a good time. 

‘There was an altercation, you had a row, and Doyle slapped you. You responded by hitting him with the glass to the forehead.

‘There was an arterial bleed to the victim’s forehead and he is on blood thinners. It took more than four hours to stem the bleeding. 

‘He was on the verge of needing a blood transfusion. It was only because I consider this incident an act of impulse and not a deliberate action that I am suspending the prison sentence. 

‘This is a case where compensation is not appropriate given the nature of the relationship,’

Bintcliffe was also ordered to complete a ‘Skills for Relationships’ 30 Rehabilitation Requirement Days and pay a £156 victim surcharge.

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