Hollie Weston told police officers she caused her victim to bleed but “it could have been worse”
20:05, 15 Apr 2025Updated 20:05, 15 Apr 2025
Hollie Weston pictured leaving Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
A mum laughed as she walked free from court after she “took the law into her own hands” because of a Snapchat video she saw on a man’s phone. Hollie Weston, 26, told police officers she had punched her victim Alfie Broadfield-Mellor and “caused him to bleed” but added “it could have been worse”.
Mr Broadfield-Mellor was subjected to a “lengthy and extensive assault” and was found by police officers bloodied and bruised in Weston’s bathroom. The victim also suffered a number of other injuries not consistent with solely being punched during the incident, but had not provided any evidence to the police or the prosecution. A crown court judge described the case as “deeply unusual”.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this morning, Tuesday, April 15 that Mr Broadfield-Mellor had been living at Weston’s house, then on Acre Lane in Bromborough. Derek Jones, prosecuting, told the court he was either “a friend or a family friend” but the pair weren’t romantically attached.
The court heard in the early hours of November 9 2023 the defendant found “very upsetting” videos on the victim’s Snapchat. Merseyside Police received a call at around 7am from a neighbour who reported hearing a female shouting “please help, please help”.
When officers arrived at Weston’s house they found Mr Broadfield-Mellor in her bathroom. Mr Jones said the man had been “clearly subjected to a lengthy and extensive assault”. The court heard he had wounds to his hand and back, as well as several marks to his face.
Mr Jones said Mr Broadfield-Mellor also had a number of bite marks on him and someone had also “applied white paint” to his face with a paintbrush. When police arrived there were “four or five” other people at the scene. The defendant told arriving officers she had punched the defendant but added “what he did was worse”.
Mr Jones told the court that the prosecution “could not say the circumstances that resulted in the serious injuries”. The court heard there was an “absence of evidence” from the victim and no one else had been charged in connection with it.
Weston was initially charged with section 18 wounding, but entered a guilty plea to an alternative charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at her plea and trial preparation hearing. The court heard she was previously a woman of good character with no previous convictions.
Hollie Weston laughed as she walked free from Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
In mitigation, John Weate, defending, told the court his client had “let her life drift” at the time of the offence and was “taking drugs and drinking too much”. He said she lost her accommodation as a result of the incident, but has since found new living arrangements. The court heard she has young children who she can now see on an unsupervised basis.
Mr Weate said Weston also had a good relationship with the children’s dad. He added that his client had not sought to find employment until she knew what would be happening with her case. He asked for his client to be awarded full credit because of the original charges when she first appeared at magistrates’ court.
Sentencing, Recorder Richard Pratt KC told Weston: “You were very understandably distressed by what you saw. That does not excuse you from what followed.” He called the incident a “brutal and sustained assault” but added: “The injury you caused was not one that represents the final injuries.”
He sentenced Weston, who wore a black blazer and sported black waved hair, to a 12-month community order. He also imposed 25 rehabilitation days. Recorder Pratt told her: “The sentence is very specific to the circumstances. The court will never approve of people who take the law into their own hands.”
Weston, who now lives on Oteley Avenue in Bromborough, thanked the judge before laughing and celebrating with two supporters as she left the court.