A FORMER nursery nurse who took part in a 'feral' attack on a 23-year-old man at a Burnley service station has been sentenced to 12 months in youth custody.

Burnley Crown Court heard well-educated Carrie Harwood was one of a mixed gang-of-six, who took part in an unprovoked attack on victim Ben Sharples, as he queued for cigarettes at the Rossendale Road garage on Boxing Day 2014.

The 20-year-old was originally given a 12-month suspended prison sentence, with probation assistance, by Judge Beverley Lunt, who blasted her and co-accused MacAulay Worth for the 'cowardly' attack.

But Harwood, who is said to have left school with 13 GCSEs, repeatedly failed to turn up for the mandatory sessions, set up by probation officers, and was hauled back to court.

Appearing in the dock, she admitted to breaching a suspended sentence order, imposed for the original offence of assault.

Shirlie Duckworth, defending, said Harwood was 'devastated' to have lost her job as a nursery nurse as it was a career she had always set her heart on, but now had to walk away from.

She said: "It is hard to reconcile this young woman, who had everything going for her, with the defendant in the dock today."

Passing sentence, Judge Lunt, who heard how the defendant suffered a miscarriage very shortly before the festive attack, said Harwood had been given her chance when she was given a suspended sentence on November 20 last year.

Judge Lunt said: "This was a disgraceful incident.

"The word I used to describe it on the last occasion was 'feral' and I recall what happened quite clearly."

The judge told the court that Harwood had failed to comply with the order initially and then her 're-engagement was sporadic' resulting in her being back in court eight weeks after she was first sentenced.

Her co-defendant Worth, then 20, also from Burnley, was jailed for 26 months his role in the attack and another unrelated assault.

Four other youths were also dealt with by the town's magistrates court for their involvement.

The victim, who had been with his girlfriend Kelly Hardesty and their pal Jordan Wilkinson-Hussain at the time of attack, was kicked, punched and dragged over the bonnet of a car during the attack.

He had to undergo a brain scan and suffered concussion, two black eyes and severe swelling to his face.

During a police investigation his attackers were caught out by CCTV cameras covering the service station.