A drunk woman trashed her ex-partner's home, causing over £2,000 worth of damage, a court heard.
Lauren Blaney and a man were reported to the police by a member of the public who saw them smashing a window at the home of her ex-partner, James Campbell, at 8pm on March 21 this year.
The woman was seen hitting a window with her victim’s guitar and was heard shouting she had found £80, the Liverpool Echo reports.
When police arrived, the front window of the ground floor flat in Rowsley Grove, Aintree, Merseyside, was completely smashed, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
Nardeen Nemat, prosecuting, said: “There were spots of blood on shattered glass and blood splatters around the address.”
The court heard Blaney and a man who was with her had left the scene after an altercation but were spotted by an officer nearby.
Police also found items including food in a rucksack Blaney had been seen with.
The rampage caused £2,180 worth of damage to the property and contents, including a £900 guitar, two television sets, ornaments and clothing. A £500 guitar was also missing.
Mr Campbell, 48, who was out at the time of the break-in, said that he had not had contents insurance and had been left out of pocket.
In a victim impact statement, said his landlord then boarded up the window and door, so he could only access his home from a rear alley.
He said: "The area is barely lit and I felt vulnerable and quite scared especially after the burglary, I was scared it was some kind of vendetta so I did not feel safe using the alley."
He also added that the attack left him scared and less confident, meaning he had to rely on other people more than he used to in the past.
Mr Campbell said he had been focussing on seeing his daughters after the couple’s break-up 18 months earlier and wanted to provide a stable environment for them to stay.
The man, who requested a restraining order, said: "I cannot understand why she did this, it feels so vindictive."
Miss Nemat said that Blaney "blamed Mr Campbell for her children being taken away".
She added: "She said she had been drinking heavily and was very drunk, she became angry and decided to damage his house."
Blaney, 29, said her boyfriend, Neil Woods, smashed the window and once it was broken she climbed inside.
She said she was "still feeling very angry and once inside made a mess and could not stop smashing things up."
She said she stole food and £30 which she used to buy vodka and to get a taxi - and she abandoned one of her victim's guitars in an alley.
The court heard Blaney has six previous convictions for 13 offences including theft.
Rachel Oakdene, defending, said a pre-sentence report revealed Blaney’s chaotic lifestyle, but there was hope she could put that behind her.
Ms Oakdene said: "She had made a complete confession to police and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity."
She added that Blaney was receiving treatment for drug and alcohol misuse and hoped to get her children back next year.
Blaney pleaded guilty to burglary, and the court heard her partner was charged with criminal damage and assaulting an emergency worker and fined by magistrates.
The judge, Recorder Ian Harris, said either she or her partner had smashed the window and added: "I do not fully understand why he was not charged with burglary and charged with a far less serious offences."
He said her pre-sentence report "makes very sad reading" but pointed out aggravating factors included that she was drunk and angry at the time about her ex-partner.
He said: "You attached some blame to him for your domestic circumstances."
Recorder Harris said she had successfully completed a rehabilitation and suspended prison sentence order previously and it was not clear if she had just "flouted everything she learnt" or her personal problems had come to a peak.
He said he would impose a suspended prison sentence to punish her and also to try to assist her and added: "If I am wrong you will be brought back here and go to prison."
He imposed a 21-month term suspended for two years and a 12-month drug rehabilitation course. He also ordered her to carry out 30 days rehabilitation activities and imposed a tag for six months between 8pm-8 am and a four-year restraining order.
He told her that the orders "were designed to make you think twice" and warned her "not to drink, take drugs and then decide to go and get some revenge which is what this was about."
