{"id":23931,"date":"2025-04-16T05:27:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T05:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/23931\/"},"modified":"2025-04-16T05:27:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T05:27:15","slug":"mum-laughs-as-she-walks-free-from-court-after-taking-law-into-her-own-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/23931\/","title":{"rendered":"Mum laughs as she walks free from court after &#8216;taking law into her own hands&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hollie Weston told police officers she caused her victim to bleed but &#8220;it could have been worse&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>20:05, 15 Apr 2025Updated 20:05, 15 Apr 2025<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_JS366005959.jpg\" alt=\"Hollie Weston pictured leaving Liverpool Crown Court\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Hollie Weston pictured leaving Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool ECHO)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A mum laughed as she walked free from court after she &#8220;took the law into her own hands&#8221; because of a Snapchat video she saw on a man&#8217;s phone. Hollie Weston, 26, told police officers she had punched her victim Alfie Broadfield-Mellor and &#8220;caused him to bleed&#8221; but added &#8220;it could have been worse&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Mr Broadfield-Mellor was subjected to a <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/crime\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"&quot;lengthy and extensive assault&quot;Link opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;lengthy and extensive assault&#8221;<\/a> and was found by police officers bloodied and bruised in Weston&#8217;s bathroom. The victim also suffered a number of other injuries not consistent with solely being punched during the incident, but <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/courts\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"had not provided any evidence to the police or the prosecutionLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">had not provided any evidence to the police or the prosecution<\/a>. A <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/courts\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"crown court judgeLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">crown court judge<\/a> described the case as &#8220;deeply unusual&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \"><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/courts\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Liverpool Crown CourtLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Liverpool Crown Court<\/a> heard this morning, Tuesday, April 15 that Mr Broadfield-Mellor had been living at Weston&#8217;s house, then on <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/bromborough\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Acre Lane in BromboroughLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Acre Lane in Bromborough<\/a>. Derek Jones, prosecuting, told the court he was either &#8220;a friend or a family friend&#8221; but the pair weren&#8217;t romantically attached.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The court heard in the early hours of November 9 2023 the defendant found <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/crime\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"&quot;very upsetting&quot; videos on the victim&#039;s SnapchatLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;very upsetting&#8221; videos on the victim&#8217;s Snapchat<\/a>. <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/merseyside-police\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Merseyside PoliceLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Merseyside Police<\/a> received a call at around 7am from a neighbour who reported hearing a female shouting &#8220;please help, please help&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">When officers arrived at Weston&#8217;s house they found Mr Broadfield-Mellor in her bathroom. Mr Jones said the man had been &#8220;clearly subjected to a lengthy and extensive assault&#8221;. The court heard he had <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/crime\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"wounds to his hand and back, as well as several marks to his faceLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">wounds to his hand and back, as well as several marks to his face<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Mr Jones said Mr Broadfield-Mellor also had a number of bite marks on him and someone had also &#8220;applied white paint&#8221; to his face with a paintbrush. When police arrived there were &#8220;four or five&#8221; other people at the scene. The defendant told arriving officers she had punched the defendant but added &#8220;what he did was worse&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Mr Jones told <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/courts\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"the court that the prosecutionLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">the court that the prosecution<\/a> &#8220;could not say the circumstances that resulted in the serious injuries&#8221;. The court heard there was an &#8220;absence of evidence&#8221; from the victim and no one else had been charged in connection with it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Weston was <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/courts\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"initially charged with section 18 woundingLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">initially charged with section 18 wounding<\/a>, but entered a <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/courts\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"guilty plea to an alternative charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at her plea and trial preparation hearingLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">guilty plea to an alternative charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at her plea and trial preparation hearing<\/a>. The court heard she was previously a woman of good character with no previous convictions.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_JS366005961.jpg\" alt=\"Hollie Weston laughed as she walked free from Liverpool Crown Court\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Hollie Weston laughed as she walked free from Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool ECHO)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">In mitigation, John Weate, defending, told the court his client had &#8220;let her life drift&#8221; at the time of the offence and was &#8220;taking drugs and drinking too much&#8221;. 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Mr Weate said Weston also had a good relationship with the children&#8217;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 <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/courts\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"magistrates&#039; courtLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">magistrates&#8217; court<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \"><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/courts\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Sentencing, Recorder Richard Pratt KCLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Sentencing, Recorder Richard Pratt KC<\/a> told Weston: &#8220;You were very understandably distressed by what you saw. That does not excuse you from what followed.&#8221; He called the incident a &#8220;brutal and sustained assault&#8221; but added: &#8220;The injury you caused was not one that represents the final injuries.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">He sentenced Weston, who wore a black blazer and sported black waved hair, to a <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/courts\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"12-month community orderLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">12-month community order<\/a>. He also imposed 25 rehabilitation days. Recorder Pratt told her: &#8220;The sentence is very specific to the circumstances. The court will never approve of people who take the law into their own hands.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Weston, who now lives on Oteley Avenue in Bromborough, thanked the judge before laughing and celebrating with two supporters as she left the court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hollie Weston told police officers she caused her victim to bleed but &#8220;it could have been worse&#8221; 20:05,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,14916,30,188,393,4884,179,16,15,8881],"class_list":{"0":"post-23931","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-bromborough","10":"tag-courts","11":"tag-crime","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-liverpool","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-wirral"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}