A woman who hit an eight-year-old boy in the face with a bottle of water during a drunken rampage on a flight to Miami narrowly escaped jail today.
College worker Louise Dixon, 51, who is a mum of two, was handcuffed for six hours on the US-bound flight from London Heathrow after spitting in the face of a woman and lashing out at another woman as they tried to calm her down.
At one point, the captain of the Virgin Atlantic flight was even considering making an emergency landing in New York.
At Isleworth Crown Court, Dixon, of Ogmore-by-Sea near Bridgend, Wales, was given an eight-month suspended sentence after admitting three counts of assault and one of being drunk on a plane.
She was ordered to attend a 25-day rehabilitation programme for alcoholics and ordered to do 200 hours' community service.
She must also pay the three common assault victims £400 each.
Read more of today's stories here
Dixon told the court in a statement: "I am so sorry for what I have done. I will never behave in this way again."
An earlier hearing at Uxbridge Magistrates Court was told that after being handed a full bottle of water she had hurled it across the cabin where it hit an eight-year-old boy in the face 'with some force'.
She had boarded the flight on April 12 after drinking two bottles of beer and half a bottle of brandy.
Just 19 minutes into the flight, the divorced mum-of-two started behaving "very strangely" and raised her fist to punch a woman sat on the row behind her.
She raised her fist to punch another passenger and then lashed out at two others as crew and passengers wrestled to subdue and restrain her, as she spat in a woman's face.
Dixon kicked another passenger as she was restrained on the floor by cabin crew and passengers.
The boy's mum told how she saw the bottle fly across the aircraft and hit her son on the left side of the head "with some force".
Dixon had been told she could face jail after admitting being drunk on board the flight, assaulting a woman on board, the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and a cabin crew member.
In mitigation Zaki Hashmi described the events on the plane as a 'wake up call'.
He said that she has two children, an 18-year-old boy going to university and a 16-year-old about to do her A Levels, who would be affected if she went to prison.
Since the incident, Dixon had attended an alcohol rehabilitation programme and volunteered for a care home specialising in patients with dementia.
Sentencing her, Judge Edward Connell said: "You behaved recklessly and assaulted the people with the misfortune of sitting near you, including an eight-year-old child.
"I will be bringing this matter under personal review. If you fail to comply with the court orders, you will be brought back in front of me and I will activate the prison sentence.
"I hope I have made myself clear."
Dixon, wept and was shaking as she muttered "thank you" to the judge as she left the court room.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news. We are on Instagram too. We'll also bring you live updates and notifications of breaking news on the M.E.N. app - download it here.
