Social worker hit head after being shoved by mum
A MUM-OF-TWO knocked a social worker unconscious and left her with a head injury after becoming “frustrated” during a meeting.
Raylizabeth Lloyd threatened to push Gail Cotton down a flight of steps then shoved her backwards, causing her to hit her head on the concrete.
Sentencing her at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Nicola Jones said: “These professionals must be given the full protection of the law.”
The court heard the incident happened at Bridgend council offices on June 20.
James Evans, prosecuting, said the defendant went along for a meeting with social worker Ms Cotton and others.
He told the court: “It appears the defendant did not like the way that meeting was going. She became aggressive and obstructive.”
Prosecutors said the meeting came to an end and Lloyd went outside but refused to leave the area and was warned the police would be called. The court heard she threatened to push Ms Cotton down the steps to the building and swore at her colleague.
Mr Evans said the social worker walked away to her car in an attempt to defuse the situation but Lloyd followed her to the car park.
He told the court Lloyd used both hands to give a “forceful shove” to the victim’s shoulders, knocking her backwards on to the floor. He said: “She struck her head on the concrete floor.”
Prosecutors said the defendant walked off, leaving Ms Cotton unconscious with a “gaping wound” that had to be glued.
The court heard the victim, who had no idea how long she was unconscious for, suffered from dizziness and vertigo as a result of the head injury. A medical report from September 3 found she was still suffering from dizziness, headaches, and backache three months on.
The victim said she felt like she was not able to function at her normal level, although it is expected she will make a full recovery.
Following the incident, Lloyd went to a friend’s house and was arrested the same day. She accepted being at the scene but gave a different version of events.
Mr Evans said she was cautioned in 2015 for possessing a knife in a public place.
Lloyd, 40, from Heol Dyfed in Maesteg, admitted wounding.
The court heard she previous convictions and had no pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
Rhodri Chudleigh, defending, said his client has been affected by borderline personality disorder for the last 20 years and has been sectioned four times. He said: “She found it frustrating dealing with the process.”
Mr Chudleigh said Lloyd did not realise the victim was unconscious when she walked off and asked for any prison sentence to be suspended rather than immediate.
Judge Jones found the offending was too serious, telling the defendant: “I find in these circumstances I cannot suspend the sentence.”
She accepted the meeting was “difficult and intense” for Lloyd but reminded her the social worker was doing her job, working in difficult and emotive circumstances.
The judge noted she caused a significant injury, which is still not completely better, and concluded: “There has to be an element of deterrence.”
Lloyd was jailed for 14 months and ordered to pay a £149 victim surcharge.