Telford mother attacked neighbour 'with flailing arms' after row over son kicking ball at fence
A mother-of-three attacked her neighbour with "flailing arms" after her son was asked not to kick a football against a fence.
Lauren Cahill, aged 25, lost her temper after her boy was kicking the ball outside their home in Madeley on April 2 last year.
Telford Magistrates Court was told how Cahill's neighbour became aware of the child and was worried he would damage their shared fence, and found the noise a nuisance.
She asked the boy not to kick the ball against the fence, and then went back inside her home. But Cahill went to see her neighbour and said: "If you have a problem, talk to me, not my kids."
She got "in the face" of the victim, before a scuffle ensued in which the victim was hit "with flailing arms". She suffered bruising to her face.
The victim said in a personal statement that it has made her too scared to answer the door without her partner at her side, and her four-year-old daughter wants the family to leave and live somewhere else.
She added that she has nightmares about the incident.
Cahill, of Anstice Road, Madeley, Telford, was found guilty after trial of one charge of assault by beating.
Her lawyer told the court that Cahill has ADHD and learning difficulties, and now realises she should have walked away from the situation.
Magistrates handed Cahill a conditional discharge for 18 months, and ordered her to pay £100 in compensation to the victim. She was also ordered to pay £200 in court costs.
