A grandma was blinded in one eye at a Pontins holiday park after an angry mum wrongfully accused her of calling a 10-year-old girl ‘a whore’.
Joanne Benson walked free from court despite punching Linda Magill, 57, at the Southport holiday park after mistaking her for the person who insulted her daughter.
Benson, 41, of Hunts Cross, Liverpool, was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for 18 months, at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting causing GBH without intent.
The court heard Mrs Magill had been with her two-year-old grandson on November 5, 2016, outside the resort’s on-site pub. Derek Jones, prosecuting, said Benson’s young daughter became involved in an altercation with a woman who called her ‘a whore’.
Huge bag of cash, a yacht and hippo’s teeth have all been confiscated by police The child mistakenly told her mum that the woman was Mrs Magill, which led to Benson confronting her.
Mr Jones said there was some finger jabbing and at one point Mrs Magill leaned towards the defendant.
He said: ‘A punch was thrown by the defendant with her right hand which connected with the left eye of Mrs Magill.’
The two women grappled and people ran over to separate them. Mr Jones told the court that Mrs Magill suffers from an eye condition which had caused her problems for years.
She had undergone surgery three months before the incident which had successfully restored her vision.
However, the court heard the blow from Benson left her eye misshapen, and surgery failed to correct her sight.
In January last year she decided to undergo an operation to remove her eye. I’ve created a mural to encourage love, empathy and kindness towards refugees like me In a victim statement Mrs Magill described how she had been left in ‘considerable pain’ and had lost confidence in social situations.
Rachel Oakdene, defending, said that mum-of-three Benson has no previous convictions and character references showed she was ‘well thought of’.
She told the court the comment made to Benson’s daughter was the catalyst for what happened and her client was ‘deeply sorry’ for what happened to the victim.