Dungannon mother narrowly avoids jail for pulling former school-mate's hair on dance floor

Erin Wray, 21, from Cloneen, appeared at Dungannon Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday accused of criminal damage and common assault.

The court heard how on Boxing Day of last year, Wray was spotted in a popular town bar holding a number of handbags belonging to three women who had been dancing together.

Wray slapped one of the women twice across her face when she tried to grab her handbag back, and pulled the hair of another woman, whom she had gone to school with.

She also emptied the contents of the handbag across the floor, damaging a mobile phone to the cost of £280.

Door staff subsequently threw out Wray, who was later arrested by police and claimed to have no memory of the incident due to intoxication.

Her defence solicitor said she was deeply ashamed by her behaviour, which was entirely fuelled by alcohol.

However, Judge John Meehan accused the defendant, who is eight months pregnant, of showing no remorse as evidenced by her pre-sentence report.

Wray had made no effort at compensating the victim for her damaged phone, he said, adding that hair-pulling was a very painful assault to endure.

The judge sentenced her to three months in prison, suspended, for the assaults and warned that it was up to Wray to address her alcohol abuse issue.