A mum who got drunk and threatened her neighbour with a knife in the middle of the night has avoided jail.
Rachel Colquhoun turned up at the address carrying a 20cm blade before having a bottle of bleach over her.
The 34-year-old, of Stoke-on-Trent, claimed she had been forced to go to the property on January 21 last year by her "abusive" former partner.
While she admitted carrying the knife in her pocket before taking it out, she denied lunging at the complainant or attempting to use the weapon at the property.
Rachel Colquhoun has avoided jail
James Hudson, prosecuting, told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court: "At just before 1am, the defendant was banging on the complainant’s door and when she opened it, the defendant was holding a knife with a black handle and a silver blade that was 20cm in length.
"The complainant grabbed a bottle of bleach she kept by the door and threw it over the defendant and called the police.
"The defendant was arrested and accepted carrying the blade.
"She was in a relationship with someone who made her commit those actions."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- Jonathan Gullis calls for migrants with 'medieval attitudes' towards women to be 'deported' in blistering rant: 'A threat to the nation’s safety!'
- Masked man caught on CCTV throwing brick while defending mosque from Southport riots dodges jail
- Skeletal remains discovered in park as police launch investigation into 'unsettling discovery'
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court
In mitigation, Catherine O’Reilly said: “There is clear remorse and Ms Colquhoun bitterly regrets her actions.
"She has made an effort to make her life more stable and she hopes to make further progress with that.
“She has ended the relationship, which was the reason she committed the offence. She is free from drugs and alcohol.”
The defendant, of Berdmore Street, Fenton, pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article in a public place.
Colquhoun was handed a community order for 18 months, made up of 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a six-month alcohol treatment requirement.
Recorder Anthony Warner told her: “Having a bladed article is a serious offence, even if only carried or held, because it might be, understandably, very, very frightening to the person on the other end of that knife.
"There is always a risk that if there was any physical contact during the confrontation, it could be used recklessly and therefore cause injury to a person.
“People often go to prison for offences such as this, but I’m not going do that in your case. Importantly, you've shown a degree of victim insight. You were under the influence of alcohol at that time, an aggravating factor, but you’ve taken steps to address your alcohol misuse and you are drug free. The man behind all this is no longer in your life.