A MOTHER who battered a woman's face in a drunken fight was spared a jail sentence yesterday.

Brenda Cant attacked the woman in her kitchen after an all-day drinking binge three days before Christmas last year, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The pair had been drinking at a children's party in Chilton, County Durham, said David Scutt, prosecuting, before returning to Cant's home where they shared a bottle of vodka.

Cant, 36, of Colleridge Road, Chilton, admitted a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm to Doreen Grey on December 22.

Mr Scutt said Ms Grey had suffered facial injuries, problems to her back and swelling to her eyes. Three months later she still suffered from headaches.

He said the incident was witnessed by a 12-year-old boy, who saw Cant hitting Ms Grey, who was on the ground, and screaming and shouting.

Cant told police she and Ms Grey had begun arguing and pushing each other. She claimed Ms Grey punched her first. Mr Scutt said Cant had a previous conviction for wounding in 1995 after a glass attack in a pub.

The judge, Recorder Benjamin Nolan, accepted the recommendation of a pre-sentence report and imposed a community rehabilitation order for two years.