A YOUNG mother who hurled a glass that caused a 10cm gash in woman's face wept as she was jailed for 12 months today.

Gemma Burrows was led to the cells after a judge told her that the offence in a St Helens town centre bar was so serious only a prison sentence could be justified.

The 25-year-old had admitted wounding and also pleaded guilty to four benefit fraud offences involving £35,000.

Natalia Cornwall, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that about 2am on December 27 last year Burrows was in the Bar 44 club in Westfield Street.

She accidentally bumped into Leanne Garrity, who was on the dance floor, causing her to spill her drink. An argument developed between the victim and Burrows' friend.

Burrows threw her drink and the glass hit Ms Garrity in the face.

She did not realise she had been injured until she felt blood running down her face. Door staff gave her first aid and at Whiston Hospital it was found she had a deep ten centimetre laceration from her mouth to her ear.

Miss Cornwall told the court that police had been unable to trace the victim, who has moved address, to obtain a victim personal statement, but she may have been left scarred for life and suffering permanent nerve damage.

After reading on Facebook about the victim’s injuries Burrows went to a police station the next day and confessed. She accepted throwing the glass and apologised.

The court heard that the fraud offences involved her claiming income support, child tax credit and housing and council tax benefit on the grounds she was a single mum between July 2011 and April 25 last year.

However for at least 18 months of that time she had been living at her home in Lord Street, St Helens, with her partner, Matthew Phillips, said the prosecutor.

Robert Haygarth, defending, said that Burrows, who has two daughters, has scant recollection of the incident in the club but had gone to the police to confess .

She has low self-esteem and was not confident that her partner would stay with her. They did break up for a time but got back together, he added.

Sentencing Burrows the judge, Recorder Anil Murray, said that CCTV showed her throwing the glass which left the victim “with a deep and nasty cut from the corner of her mouth to her ear and she needed cosmetic surgery.

“You have genuine remorse and felt sick when shown what you had done. I can see you are remorseful from your actions.”

He told Burrows, who sat crying, “It will be difficult for your children but it is your fault.”

The judge said he accepted that he sentenced her on the basis that she had wrongly obtained £20,000 in benefits as some of the period her partner was not living with her.

He said that has suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and had drink problems but has been making progress with that.

The court heard that she was the subject of an eight week suspended sentence for driving while disqualified and with excess alcohol at the time of the fraud and the judge activated two weeks to run concurrently to the 12 months with a further two months concurrently for the fraud.