A woman who was used as a decoy in a burglary, in which a man was hit round the head with an axe and attacked with a hammer, has avoided jail.

Rebecca Brazendale appeared at Preston Crown Court alongside Jamie Robertson, one of three men who carried out the aggravated burglary at a property in Rishton in November 2019.

The other two men involved have never been identified.

The court was told how on the night of November 10, 2019, victim Oliver Davis was at home with his pregnant partner and five-year-old daughter, who was asleep upstairs.

At around 9.20pm there was a knock at the door, and when Mr Davis went to answer it, saw Brazendale stood on the other side.

Prosecuting, Alison Mather said: “Mr Davis recognised Brazendale as she was the mother of a man he knew.

"But when she asked him if he knew where her son was, he found it odd as he wasn’t friends with her son; he only knew him to say hello to.

“He told Brazendale he hadn’t seen her son and tried to close the door but was unable to, and then he noticed something shiny coming through the door before it hit his head.

“He looked up saw it was an axe, before touching his head and feeling blood dripping from it.

“The axe was then swung towards him again and he tried to grab it, but then a hammer was swung at him and made contact, at which point he let go of the door and three men entered his property, including the defendant Jamie Robertson, who had been carrying the axe.”

Miss Mather said by this time, Brazendale had run away.

The court heard how Mr Davis was dragged into the front room before the two other unidentified men, one carrying the hammer and one with a machete, went upstairs.

Miss Mather went on: “Robertson said to Mr Davis, ‘where is your money and your weed’.

“Mr Davis handed over £40 and begged Robertson not to hurt his daughter who was sleeping upstairs.

“Not long after, the two other men came down and the three of them left together in a BMW.”

Mr Davis suffered a four inch laceration to his head, but Miss Mather said the psychological effects far outweighed the physical injuries as the victim suffered panic attacks, paranoia and could no longer hold down a job.

Mitigating for Brazendale, who has two convictions for five offences, Chloe Booth said her client entered a guilty plea to burglary on the basis she did not know any violence would be used during the incident.

She said Brazendale had been approached by one of the unidentified offenders and was asked to knock on the door of Mr Davis’ property.

Brazendale had only agreed as she was terrified of the man, knowing he was violent and aggressive and believed if she did not agree then her son, who is a drug addict, would be hurt by the man.

Miss Booth said: “Brazendale acted to protect her son from any wrong doings the man might have wanted him to undertake, and did not anticipate what was going to happen that evening.

“She was told she had ‘nothing to worry about’ and thought it was as simple as knocking on someone’s door in order to keep her son out of trouble.

“She didn’t think clearly about what she was being asked to do but as soon as the door was opened she realised something was wrong.”

Sentencing Brazendale, Judge Graham Knowles said: "You agreed to be a decoy to get a householder to open the door, so three men would be able to go into that home with the intent of committing criminal damage and stealing – you agreed to be part of that burglary.”

Brazendale, 52, of Hermitage Street, Blackburn, was handed 12 months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and told to carry out 25 rehabilitation activity days.

Robertson, 33, of Skye Crescent, Blackburn, has eight convictions for nine offences, including common assault and multiple breaches of orders.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and was remanded into custody to be sentenced at a later date.