A legal saga involving Claudia Carrington, a 22-year-old woman with a history of drink-related violence, has finally come to an end. Carrington was charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after attacking her neighbours, Jean Clewes and Alison Edge, with a vodka bottle.
The incident occurred as she returned to her former home in Oldham, and was captured on Ring doorbell footage. Carrington swung a bag containing the bottle at the victims, but the charges were dropped this week after prosecutors agreed to accept her original version of events.
Carrington had faced up to five years in jail and appeared in court ten times over the course of nearly two years. However, each hearing was adjourned due to missing evidence, legal issues, or Carrington turning up late. She was ultimately fined just £40 and ordered to spend 20 days with the probation service as part of a community order.
Carrington’s solicitor, James Riley, described the case as having a “torturous passage through the courts,” and attributed the numerous adjournments to the discovery of additional evidence. He stated that his client had been walking across the complainants’ property when the altercation occurred and that she accepted responsibility for her actions.
During the altercation, Carrington’s phone fell from her bag and one of the complainants picked it up. While trying to retrieve her phone, one of the complainants was hit with Carrington’s bag containing the vodka bottle. The doorbell footage showed one of the complainants said, “We have not got your phone,” after which the altercation ended.
Carrington’s childhood trauma and mental health issues were cited as contributing factors to her offence. She also had previous convictions for common assault and a violent offence. Despite this, the magistrates did not deem a restraining order or compensation appropriate, given the nature of the offence. Carrington pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of common assault and was ordered to undertake rehabilitation activity as part of a community order. She was also required to pay £180 in costs, with the rest of the legal bill being met by the taxpayer.
»22-year-old woman’s legal case of drink-related violence comes to an end«
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