A SECRETARY who attacked three men and a woman in a drunken rage has escaped jail, despite magistrates being shown a shocking video of the attacks.

Mum-of-one Jacqueline Shenton, 31, was seen yanking the woman’s hair and hitting the men in CCTV film of the incident outside the Printworks one night in September this year.

Magistrates in Manchester heard the attacks were ‘completely unprovoked’.

Chunks of the woman’s hair were torn out and one man had facial injuries.

Shenton hit one of the men several times. Another said she ‘clawed’ at his shirt.

Matthew Siddall, prosecuting, said: “This is the reason why some people don’t go into Manchester.”

"If you hadn’t pleaded guilty, you would have gone straight to jail." 

Magistrate Stephen Hadfield

Shenton, of Hob Hill, Stalybridge, admitted four common assaults and one count of failing to surrender.

The woman victim was seen in the film grabbing railings as Shenton attacked her. The men pulled Shenton away, but she assaulted them. She told the court: “I don’t usually get drunk and behave like that.”

Previous convictions

The court heard she has a string of previous convictions, including two for common assault.

Magistrates sentenced Shenton to six months’ jail for each assault, plus 14 days for the bail offence, all to run concurrently and suspended for two years.

She was placed under a community order for 12 months with a requirement for supervision and to attend a women’s programme. Shenton must also pay £200 compensation and £85 costs.

Chairman of the bench Stephen Hadfield told her: “If you hadn’t pleaded guilty, you would have gone straight to jail.”

The case comes after the M.E.N. revealed how one of Manchester’s top judges said too many women were in court for drink-related offences. District Judge Alan Berg said: “The number of alcohol-fuelled cases coming before me is getting beyond my comprehension.”