Hairdresser Donna Hamer attacked her then boyfriend after a gay friend sent him a picture of a penis 'as a joke'

A hairdresser furiously attacked her boyfriend with a kitchen roll holder and threatened him with a 12-inch knife after a gay friend messaged him a photo of a penis 'as a joke'.

Donna Hamer, 28, 'went mad' and sank her teeth into Rick Scherzo's hands after he received the picture message on his computer.

As Mr Scherzo, 30, pleaded with Hamer to stop and told her it was just a prank, she punched him in the face and shouted: 'You're gay.'

She even threatened her boyfriend with a 12-inch knife and broke his phone when he tried to call the police.

After the violence, Hamer, from Nelson, Lancashire, posted a string of messages on Facebook falsely claiming Mr Scherzo had beaten her up.

She wrote: 'Just found out my ex is now messaging my friends on here. Tellin lies trying to justifie (sic) what he done.He can do what he wants now never again will he hurt.'

But then she bombarded Mr Scherzo with more than 100 apologetic texts as she tried to win him back.

Prosecuting, Enza Geldard told Burnley Magistrates' Court that the pair started their relationship at Christmas in 2013, but had broken up by March last year.

A week later, Hamer told Mr Scherzo that she was pregnant, leading the pair to get back together and move into her flat.

She later said she had lost the baby, with Mr Scherzo telling the police that he did not know if she was pregnant in the first place.

Rick Scherzo insisted the penis picture was a prank but Hamer continued her attack, punching him in the face

Hamer, 28, also beat Mr Scherzo with a rolling pin holder and threatened him with a 12-inch chef's knife

The couple were at home in September 19 last year when the victim was chatting to his male friend, who is gay, on his computer.

Miss Geldard said: 'He says Donna Hamer saw this picture and has gone mad. She started calling him gay and wouldn't let it go, although he told her it was just a joke.'

Hamer, who admitted assault by beating, then punched Mr Scherzo in the face and bit both his hands as he was restraining her.

She started hitting him again before the pair tried to calm the row down, the court heard.

Mr Scherzo said he was going to bed and didn't want her sleeping in the same room. Hamer then began striking him again so he punched her in the face in self-defence.

She went into the kitchen, returning with the 13-inch long kitchen roll pole before hitting him with it.

Mr Scherzo managed to grab it off her so Hamer went into the kitchen again, coming back with a 12-inch chef's knife.

She then demanded money from him they had spent on holiday flights together.

Mr Scherzo said in his statement: 'I panicked when I saw her with the knife. She held it to my chest and said: "Are you going to get me the money tomorrow?"'

He tried to sleep in the living room while Hamer was in the bedroom, but she followed him and started 'kicking off again'.

After warning her he would the call the police, she grabbed his phone from his hand, cracking the screen and breaking it.

Violent: Hamer was handed a community order and told to attend a course to deal with her behaviour

After the attack, Hamer bombarded Mr Scherzo with more than 100 apologetic texts as she tried to win him back

Mr Scherzo added: 'In the morning I had to go to work. I told her to pack her things and get out. When I got home she gave me the keys and left. That night she placed it all over Facebook that I have beaten her up. I have blocked her so I couldn't see it, but my friends told me about it.'

Throughout the next week, Hamer sent him 102 text messages, which he deleted, as well as contacting his friends.

He told police: 'I just want her to leave me alone and stop texting and threatening me. I want to move on with my life and just want her to do the same.'

The court was told that Mr Scherzo did not want contact with Hamer, who is pregnant with his child, but did want to be involvement in his child's life.

Defence lawyer Kamran Yousaf said the incident was fuelled by alcohol and added: 'Clearly, she was aggrieved when she saw that image on the computer and confronted him. She found it offensive and disgusting, but she acted wrongly. She shouldn't have done what she did.

'She was clearly angry. She admits assaulting the complainant in order to prevent him from assaulting her. She didn't intend to injure him. She used these weapons to threaten and intimidate the victim.

'Since this incident she has stopped drinking, because of the incident and because she's pregnant. She is remorseful and regrets this incident.'

Sentencing, justice of the peace David Bennett told Hamer: 'This was a serious offence and concerned us somewhat because of the nature of the offending, it was in alcohol and the presence of weapons. There is always an enormous risk and the consequences can be horrendous.'