A CREWKERNE mother who struck a woman in the face during a brawl in the street hit her so hard she fell to the floor hitting her head.

Chanice Tracey Long had fallen out with the victim who used to be her best friend and then rowed with her over a borrowed coat.

When the dispute turned physical the pair became involved in a tussle outside the One-Stop Shop leaving the victim with a swollen face and a black eye requiring treatment at hospital.

Long, 26, of Red Lion Court, appeared in the dock before Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil.

She pleaded guilty to assaulting Kimberley Robins by beating her during the incident at Crewkerne on June 15.

The court was told that the two women had previously been friends and Long had supported the victim when she separated from her boyfriend and did not approve when they got back together again.

Prosecutor Emma Lenanton said: “The victim was in possession of Long’s coat and arrangements were made for it to be returned, however there was an issue between them resulting in the defendant assaulting Miss Robins.

“After she had been punched by Long the victim fell to the ground and hit her head and the defendant accepted the injuries that were caused to her as a result.”

Miss Robins was taken to hospital by ambulance and had to pay £20 for a taxi to get home and had a swollen face and black eye which caused blurry vision for a while.

She said it was one of the worst experiences she had gone through and it had knocked her confidence.

She said she no longer went out any more, didn’t feel safe and already suffered with anxiety which had been made worse.

Defending solicitor Gareth Needs said that Long had been friends with Miss Robins for some time following her separation from her boyfriend and had offered her support.

“However Miss Robins resumed her relationship with her boyfriend which Long said was not healthy and the two women fell out,” he said.

“The defendant had also leant Miss Robins a coat and wanted it back because she was going away.

“There was a dispute when they met outside the One-Stop Shop and a tussle took place where Long accepts hitting her on the face causing her to fall to the floor and hit her head.”

During police interview she said she was sorry for what she did and knew she was in the wrong.

Mr Needs said that Long was a single mother who did not regularly get in trouble but was surviving on benefits and struggling with debt.

Chair of the magistrates Rosie Wilson said that it had been a “nasty incident” and warned Long that she was going to have to learn to control her temper.

“The injuries looked quite bad and we hope you have learned from it and realise that if you hit someone and they fall over and hit their head you could even end up killing them,” she said.

They imposed a 12 month conditional discharge on Long and ordered her to pay the victim £150 compensation.