Molly Russell, 22, was spared jail after scarring a man’s face with a pint glass (Picture: Central/Google)

A woman who scarred a drinker by ramming a pint glass into his eye has been spared jail despite having a history of assault.

Molly Russell, 22, was with a ‘rowdy and aggressive’ group of friends at the posh Albany pub in Fitrovia, London and began smashing glasses after staff told her it was closing time, a court heard today.

When Brendon Taylor tried to calm her down, she poured her pint over him and smashed the empty glass into his eye, leaving him ‘drenched in his own blood’.

The glass shattered on impact, causing lacerations to the socket around his left eye which have since left him scarred, prosecutor Thomas Godfrey said.




Mr Godfrey added: ‘Immediately after that glassing, the victim heard a male shout “run” and when he next focused Russell and her group were leaving the pub.’

Russell was let off with a suspended sentence at Southwark Crown Court, moments after breaking down in tears as the court was told details of her history of violence.

Earlier this year, she threw a wine glass at a man after he teased her for having a ‘red wine moustache’ and stained teeth and called her a ‘slag’ in another London bar.

Molly Russell leaving Southwark Crown Court (Picture: Central News)

A court heard in 2016 she ‘made Tyson Fury look like an amateur’ after punching and kicking two police officers in a hotel in Bayswater.

They had been called to the hotel when Russell threw a credit card machine at the receptionist after she demanded compensation because her hand had been caught in the lift, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, Mr Taylor said the attack had left him struggling for work and anxious about leaving his house.

‘I had to quit my well-paid job of three and a half years because of the proximity of my work to [the defendant’s] house.

‘A short time after the attack, the suspect walked past my flat again and there was always the fear they would identify me from my facial injuries.

‘I did not want to stay living and working in area as I did not want to risk seeing them.

‘Since leaving my full time job I have not been able to get another in the same role.

The Albany pub in Fitzrovia, London where the incident took place (Picture: Google)

‘Going out in public with severe scars on my face makes me very uncomfortable and I still worry about how people who don’t know me view me with scars on my face.

‘It particularly concerns me with regards to being hired for work.

‘I was a confident and social person before the attack but since I have been left feeling very vulnerable and conscious of my appearance.’

Michelle Denney, defending, said Russell’s had learnt her lesson after her previous violent behaviour.

‘She accepts that alcohol was a relevant factor in relation to her prior offences and for that reason she has largely stopped going out socially to anywhere that sells alcohol.’



But Judge Michael Gledhill QC, sentencing, suggested alcohol was no excuse for Russell’s history.

Judge Michael Gledhill QC, sentencing, said: ‘When are you ever going to learn?

‘You are a thoroughly immature and self-centred woman who puts yourself first always.

‘I accept you weren’t under the influence this time that makes it even worse in a sense because it shows that even sober you are a thoroughly unpleasant and violent young woman.’

‘Having considered your mitigation I’m just minded to suspend the sentence.

‘The ball is in your court – it’s about time you grew up.’

Russell, of Munster Square, Camden, northwest London, admitted unlawful wounding.

She was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years with a requirement to complete rehabilitation and 118 hours unpaid work.

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