A nursery nurse who took part in a 'feral' attack on a complete stranger just two days after having a miscarriage has been spared jail despite being told she could have killed her victim.

Carrie Harwood, 20, was among a gang of thugs who surrounded and beat up Ben Sharples as he was queuing up at a service station in Burnley to buy cigarettes.

During the assault, which took place on Boxing Day last year, the 23-year-old victim was kicked, punched, dragged over the bonnet of a taxi and knocked unconscious.

Nursery nurse Carrie Harwood (pictured left and right), who took part in a 'feral' attack on a complete stranger just two days after having a miscarriage, has been spared jail

Then, as he lay defenceless on the ground, Harwood - who had suffered the miscarriage just 48 hours earlier - stamped on him.

Today, as a judge handed Harwood a suspended jail sentence for the 'cowardly' assault, the shameless attacker yawned and grinned.

Her male accomplice, Macauley Worth, also aged 20, was jailed for 26 months.

Passing sentence Judge Beverley Lunt said the group has displayed 'brutal' and 'astonishing behaviour.'

She added: 'The behaviour of you and the rest of the group was nothing short of feral - just unbelievable: a brutal, cowardly attack by so many of you against one man.

'If you commit any more violence offences you will be going to custody for years and years.'

She added that the victim 'could not have been any more helpless' when Harwood stamped on him.

She said: 'You could have killed the man. I really don't understand what was going on in your head, how you became part of this group, especially as only two days before you had suffered a miscarriage. Acting like this is nothing short of incomprehensible.'

The 20-year-old (left) was among a gang of thugs who surrounded and beat up Ben Sharples as he was queuing up at a service station to buy cigarettes. Her accomplice, Macauley Worth (right), 20, was jailed for 26 months

But she stopped short of putting Harwood behind bars because she said everything else in her life was 'positive'.

'I am going to take a chance with you, but you have got to remake yourself as a good person,' she said.

The incident took place at 2am on December 26 last year when Mr Sharples asked his taxi to stop at Rossendale Road Service Station, Burnley, on the way home from a Christmas party to buy cigarettes and alcohol.

Prosecutor Stephen Parker said his girlfriend Kelly Hardesty and friend Jordan Wilkinson-Hussain then saw Harwood and Worth sitting with some other youngsters on a wall.

The court heard how the victim's girlfriend was cautious and did not want to get out of the vehicle but Mr Sharples assured her there wouldn't be a problem as they were 'only kids'.

He and Mr Wilkinson- Hussain then walked to the kiosk but saw the group congregate around the taxi.

The attack took place which took place at Rossendale Road Service Station, Burnley (pictured) on Boxing Day last year. The 23-year-old victim was kicked, punched and knocked unconscious

As they returned from the kiosk, they saw the taxi had driven away from the group, around the forecourt, with Miss Hardesty still inside.

The group then attacked Mr Wilkinson- Hussain before beating Mr Sharples.

Mr Parker told the court: 'He was punched, he was knocked to the ground, he was kicked and he has little recollection of what went on after that. He says his next recollection is walking up in hospital.

'His girlfriend was there, along with some nurses. His head and face were killing him, he couldn't see out of his left eye and his vision out of his right eye was very poor. That caused him to panic.'

Mr Sharples then had a CT scan which showed he had suffered concussion, two black eyes and severe swelling to his face.

You could have killed the man. I really don't understand what was going on in your head. Acting like this is nothing short of incomprehensible Judge Beverley Lunt

The victim could not remember his attackers but they were caught after the incident was recorded on CCTV.

Harwood and Worth were subsequently arrested and bailed. But five months later, Worth targeted launched a second attack on another stranger in a bar.

During that incident, he smashed the victim's jaw and knocked out his teeth, leaving him in need of surgery to have metal plates to mend the fracture and to hold his teeth in.

In mitigation, defence counsel Robert Elias said Harwood was an 'unlikely candidate' to be in the dock because she had 'the qualifications and the aptitude to do very well'.

He said: 'There is a reason she went off the rails at Christmas. Not only had she split up with her partner, she had suffered a miscarriage on Christmas Eve, not having been aware she was pregnant and spent Christmas Day in hospital.

'She has no explanation, no reason, no excuse for what she did and it's harrowing to have to see it on CCTV. It's desperate. Its awful. She is petrified of what might happen to her.

'She is a slip of a girl with all her life in front of her and it's completely uncharacteristic. She behaved in a way which is not forgivable but I am going to ask Your Honour to forgive her.'

When asked why she was grinning in the dock, Mr Elias added: 'She grins when she is frightened.'

Richard Taylor, for Worth, said: 'He is still an immature young man. He is ashamed of what he has done. He doesn't enjoy watching himself. He realises that his downfall is either drinking to excess or taking drugs and he realises he has to do something about that.'

Harwood, of Burnley, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was given 12 months in custody, suspended for a year.

Worth, also of Burnley admitted assault and causing grievous bodily harm. The court heard Harwood was of previous good character whilst Worth had 15 offences on his record.