A DAUGHTER acted ‘like a possessed demon’ when she assaulted her mother during the night on a spa weekend at a Lake District hotel, a court heard.

Preston Crown Court heard Emma Jayne Wilkinson was celebrating her mother’s birthday at the Lakeside Hotel & Spa at Newby Bridge when she assaulted her.

Prosecutor Clare Thomas said Wilkinson committed the offence on November 3, 2022, as she believed her mother was ‘an intruder’.

The court heard Wilkinson had been drinking throughout the day as well as when she went back to their room which they were sharing together.

 “The defendant got out of bed in the early hours of the morning and her mother, who was a light sleeper, heard her and asked if she was alright,” said Ms Thomas.

“Her mother knew something was wrong when the defendant replied, ‘who are you?’”

The victim got out of bed and Wilkinson then assaulted her by hitting her hand with a glass, the court heard.

Ms Thomas continued: “The defendant banged her head against the window, punched her to the eye and bit her.

“She then pinned her to the floor and started to pull her hair out before telling her mother she was going to kill her.”

The court heard the woman said a prayer to herself as she believed she was going to die.

The incident culminated with her mother managing to haul herself away before running out of the room and alerting hotel staff, the court heard.

Wilkinson was abusive towards officers when being arrested and taken into the police van, Ms Thomas added.

The court was told the victim sustained bruising around her eyes, swelling to her lip and scratch marks to her back and neck, as well as bite marks which scarred.

In interview, Wilkinson said she had got into bed first and could not remember her mum joining her. She said she had ‘little recollection’ of the incident but believed the person was an intruder, the court heard.

In her victim impact statement, the defendant's mother said: “I still have flashbacks and nightmares. I cannot ever get the thought out of my head of my daughter acting like a possessed demon’.

Julie Taylor, representing the defendant, said the incident had ‘torn the family apart.

Ms Taylor added: “This should have been a nice spa weekend away. She cannot explain what happened. She thought there was an intruder in the room.

“She is now 54 years old and has never been in trouble before. She works as a Civil Servant and has not reoffended since.

“This was a one-off aberration. She doesn’t know whether her medication being changed had an effect on her state of mind at the time of this.

“Despite her difficult relationship with her mother, she would never have intentionally hurt her.

“I ask you to give her a chance and suspend any sentence of imprisonment so she can get help to address her mental health and drinking problem.”

Recorder Michelle Brown described the incident as a ‘prolonged and persistent attack’ which she determined had had a ‘substantial impact’ on the complainant when sentencing Wilkinson to a 16-month sentence suspended for 18 months.

Recorder Brown said she was able to suspend the sentence due to Wilkinson, who admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, being deemed to have a low risk of reoffending and prison not serving the long-term public interest.

As part of the order, Wilkinson, of Central Road, Whitehaven, was required to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation requirement days.

A restraining order was also imposed for five years as well as the defendant being ordered to contribute £500 towards court costs.