A woman who was involved in “unpleasant” scenes when a large altercation broke out in Burnley inflicted two stab wounds on another woman.

Joanne Jackson spent three nights at Blackpool Victoria Hospital following the injuries given to her by Nicole Fletcher during an incident on June 14, 2020.

On the day in question, a large group of people were enjoying the warm weather near the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at the end of Lindsey Street, Burnley.

Alcohol had been consumed and a fight broke out between a number of people, all whose identity could not be determined from CCTV footage.

Michael Goldwater, prosecuting, said an attack on Ms Jackson arose out of the affray.

When Fletcher returned to the scene and started shouting at Ms Jackson's sister, Ms Jackson told her to ‘do one’, which led to Fletcher punching her in the jaw.

The argument continued before Fletcher walked off, but shortly before 7.30pm, CCTV showed a man, Mohammed Bashir, walking towards Fletcher and punching her in the face.

She was then seen on the video walking towards where Bashir had gone, with one witness saying she was armed with a 15-20cm long bladed knife, shouting loudly and stabbing at a concrete wall.

Fletcher went for Ms Jackson once more, slashing her left forearm and producing a lot of blood.

An ambulance was called and it was then the victim realised she also had a stab wound to her back.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by Mr Goldbrook, she said since the incident she had lost all her confidence and being in crowded rooms “put her on edge.”

She added: “I still don’t know why Nicole stabbed me. I don’t know why she turned her anger on me. I was defenceless and showed no aggression.

“I was in hospital for three nights and suffered a punctured lung. I was away from my children, who could not come to see me because it was during lockdown.”

Fletcher was arrested and during interview said she had little recollection of the afternoon and no recollection of having a knife or causing injury.

Mark Stuart, mitigating, said his client is now in a better place mentally than she was not only six months ago but certainly three years ago at the time of the incident.

He said: “Nothing justifies the defendant causing those injuries.

"The defendant does not seek to demean what happened, but she is a little sceptical about some of the matters in the victim personal statement.”

Fletcher, of Victoria Road, Padiham, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and possession of a bladed article.

She has previous convictions for battery, wounding, common assault, and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Passing sentence, Judge Sara Dodd said: “This was a truly unpleasant incident you involved yourself in. The country was in the grip of lockdown.

“You armed yourself with a knife and went back to an affray that probably had nothing to do with you when it started.

“The passage of time has served you well. You have reoffended since this offence but that was in June 2021.

"You have not offended in two-and-a-half years and that is a significant improvement.”

Fletcher was sentenced to a 19-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

She will also have to complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 180 hours unpaid work.

Judge Dodd added: “If you reoffend in the next 18 months or you do not engage with probation, you will be brought back to court.

"I think you will struggle to persuade a court to give you another chance.”