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A mum-of-four left a man with a permanent scar on his forehead after hitting him hard with a 4in stiletto heel on a night out.

Single mum Louise Kenny, who works for the NHS, struck Adam Welch with her silver shoe and left him bleeding after he told her to walk away from an argument.

Sentencing her at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said: “All he remembers is blood running down his face and into his eyes.”

The incident happened outside The Courtyard pub in Cambrian Road in Newport during the early hours of September 2 last year.

Lowri Wynn Morgan, prosecuting, said Kenny got involved in an argument with someone she did not know and Mr Welch tried to calm things down.

Kenny was caught on CCTV holding her shoe with the heel pointing outwards and lunging at the victim’s face.

His brother took him to A&E at Nevill Hall Hospital where they had to wait for six and a half hours.

The 1cm circular wound to his forehead was cleaned and he was sent home with antibiotics and painkillers.

In a victim impact statement read out at court Mr Welch said he used to go out in Newport regularly but was now scared he might get attacked again.

He said he was now too frightened to drink because he feels like he might need to protect himself and is constantly looking over his shoulder. Mr Welch added: “The attack left me with a permanent scar on my forehead.”

He said he gets shooting pain around the scar and had to miss work to attend medical appointments. He is also unable to work normally due to dizziness.

Police arrived at the scene and, when she was arrested, Kenny said: “My kids. What about my kids?”

She said later said to an officer: “I can’t believe he wants to take me to court for this. It was his fault for getting involved. He deserved it.”

The defendant said she was on her way to get a taxi when she saw a man and woman arguing and wanted to help.

She accepted she had been drinking and said she felt like the alcohol affected her more than normal because she had not drunk alcohol for two years.

Kenny told the police a group of men were calling her a “slag” and she claimed one told her: “If you weren’t a girl I’d slap you now.”

She described the group as acting “like a pack of hyenas” goading her for no reason and said one of the men hurt her ankle by grabbing her shoe.

The defendant said her behaviour was out of character and she would have gone home if she was sober.

Prosecutors said she had two previous convictions – both offences against the person – dating back to 1995 and 2011.

These people were all jailed last month:

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Kathryn Lane, defending, handed the judge a letter from Women’s Aid and said her client was in an abusive relationship at the time.

She said Kenny saw a man speaking to a woman in a way she did not think was appropriate and “it hit a nerve”.

Ms Lane added: “She thought she was being helpful but unfortunately it backfired. She does accept the seriousness of this offending and she is devastated by her actions.”

The 42-year-old, from Hendre Farm Drive in Newport, admitted wounding. Her counsel described it as a “split-second decision”.

She said it was a rare night out for the mum-of-four, who works in admin for the NHS, and a chance for her to “let her hair down”.

Judge Lloyd-Clarke said: “You were being extremely aggressive. You struck him hard to the forehead with the heel.

“All he remembers is blood running down his face into his eyes. His vision became blurry and he felt dizzy.”

The judge noted it was an unprovoked attack which could have turned into an incident of public disorder as there were a lot of people around.

Kenny was jailed for eight months.