A one-time model who hospitalised her ex-boyfriend by biting him as he tried to stop her trashing his house has been spared jail.
Mum-of-three Levi Barratt, 31, and Shaun Collier, 53, were together for six months but the relationship hit the rocks due to ‘disruptive and unpredictable behaviour’ fuelled by her chronic cocaine addiction, a court head.
Barratt turned up to Mr Collier’s home in Stockport, Greater Manchester, to try and rekindle their romance, but they began bickering and she quickly ‘descended into a rage’.
The 31-year-old ‘smashed up’ £300 worth of her ex’s possessions, including a glass table, his TV and his jewellery, before he decided to intervene physically.
David Lees, prosecuting, said: ‘During her removal, the defendant bit Collier on the top of the ear.
‘He claimed to have not felt anything at the time and said his mind was more preoccupied with his broken possessions and removing her from his property. He only noticed once it started bleeding when he was back in his house.
‘The defendant tried to apologise when outside Collier’s house, although she was under the influence of drugs at the time.
‘He went to the hospital the next day and was given a tetanus shot for the wound on his upper left ear. The official medical report stated that he had suffered a one-centimetre laceration and had to receive stitching to mend it, for which he was placed under local anaesthetic.’
Barratt was sentenced to five months’ jail suspended for a year as she had already spent a ‘significant amount of time’ in custody and had ‘other mitigating factors’.
The 31-year-old was once asked to pose for pictures by a modelling agency in Manchester but became ‘heavily addicted’ to cocaine, the court was told.
Her three children were eventually taken into care and she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression.
Mr Collier said the injury did not cause lasting problems, although he experienced worries around the cost of replacing his broken possessions.
Sentencing, Judge Mark Savill said: ‘The defendant is very lucky that her parents have not turned their back on her as she has rather tested their patience over the years. She is also fortunate that the complainant has shown the good grace to forgive her for her actions.
‘I understand that you have yourself suffered significant trauma caused by abusive relationships in the past. Your life has descended into the utter misery of drug addiction, which had made you completely blinkered from reality.
‘You are somebody who when not in the throngs of drug addiction is an articulate and clever woman. You are loved by your family and you should be grateful that you have them by your side.’
Barratt will also have to complete 30 days of rehab and a nine-month drug monitoring period during which she must live with her mother.
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