Law student smashes the bride’s sister with bottle at hen party
A LAW student at a hen party left the bride’s sister with a gaping head wound after smashing her with a bottle.
Emily Summers, also a 22year- old mother of two, lashed out in a booze-fuelled row two days before the wedding.
her victim, Emma higgins, had the wound closed in hospital with medical glue and had to doctor the wedding photos to hide it.
She has since paid £280 for laser treatment to cover up the scar on her forehead.
Lesley Chipps, prosecuting, told a court: ‘During the course of the evening there had been an incident and it’s said that Miss Summers had thrown some drink over the complainant as a result of an argument within the hen party.
‘the complainant went outside where Miss Summers was in the smoking area.
‘She had a bottle in her hand, she hit her with the bottle once to the side of the head and once to the forehead, causing a cut.’
the bad-tempered celebration took place on March 18 at the East Coast social club in Southend, where the group had hired a private booth.
In a victim impact statement read to Southend Magistrates Court, Miss higgins said: ‘I am still upset and disappointed
‘We had to have photos altered’
that someone could do this to me. I was with a group of people who were celebrating my sister’s hen party.
‘I had to attend her wedding with a cut to the middle of my forehead. We had to have all the photos altered and dimmed so it didn’t show.’
Summers, who is married and lives in the town, admitted assault by beating and was told to pay £750 in compensation.
Simon Samuels, defending, said his client had no previous convictions and had contacted police herself after initially fleeing the scene.
he told the court Summers was in the second year of an Open university law degree and the drunken clash was the result of a growing problem with alcohol.
‘this is a case of a young woman taking on too much, too young,’ he said.
‘She married at the age of 19 and within two years she was a mother of two. She had a few hours of freedom where the chil- dren would be looked after by someone else. Quite simply, she drank far too much alcohol.’
Summers was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. An Open university spokesman said: ‘We would not normally take convictions into account in deciding whether a student can study with the Open university.
‘Indeed we have an active prison education programme.
‘however, in the case of students studying law there are particular requirements and we would judge each case on an individual basis.’