A WIRRAL woman who hit a teenage girl in the eye with a broken bottle has been warned she faces a jail sentence.

A Liverpool Crown Court jury found 27-year-old Suzanne Cotton guilty of wounding Natasha Kilpatrick with intent.

Both she and her 18-year-old boyfriend Robert Bigland were also convicted of assaulting Miss Kilpatrick's boyfriend Ian Maguire.

Bigland, who was also found guilty of affray, was also warned he faces a jail sentence.

During their three-day trial the jury heard that Miss Kilpatrick needed emergency eye surgery after the attack. The glass penetrated her left eyeball but she has not suffered any long-term damage.

She was struck by Cotton, a mother of two, seconds after Cotton struck her boyfriend on the back of the head with the bottle which then smashed.

Mr Richard Pratt, prosecuting, described the alleged attack on Miss Kilpatrick as "unprovoked and indefensible".

Cotton and Bigland, assisted by two unknown men, then carried out a further attack on the couple, including kicking Miss Kilpatrick as she lay on the ground.

Cotton, of Poulton Road, Wallasey, and Bigland, of Rake Lane, Wallasey, both pleaded not guilty to assaulting Mr Maguire. Cotton also denied wounding Miss Kilpatrick with intent and Bigland denied affray.

Mr Pratt said that the incident occurred in the early hours of September 27 last year as the two victims were walking along New Brighton promenade.

Earlier that evening both couples, who knew each other, had been in the Chelsea Reach nightclub. Cotton spat out her chewing gum at Mr Maguire and he told her she was 'out of order'.

Later, outside the club, words were exchanged between Mr Maguire and the two defendants but Mr Maguire and Miss Kilpatrick then walked off and were attacked about ten minutes later.

Cotton claimed that during the scuffle with Miss Kilpatrick they grabbed each other's hair and fell down. There was a broken bottle on the ground which must have accidentally caused the eye injury.

Bigland said that he had only been acting in self-defence.

The couple have both been further remanded on bail to enable pre-sentence reports to be prepared before sentence on September 20.

The judge, Recorder Roger Hedgeland, told them that only one sentencing option was open.

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