THE mum of tragic hit and run youngster Levi Bleasdale has been spared jail for attacking her "stepfather" after he insulted the dead infant.

Kirsty Ryan, 21, had spent a month facing the prospect of Christmas behind bars after Burnley magistrates had earlier warned her she might go to jail.

But yesterday she kept her freedom after another bench took a totally different view of the case and said she had suffered extreme provocation.

Ryan, 21, had hit victim Brian Finnigan with a glass vase after he insulted both her and Levi -- just three weeks after the loss of her daughter. He called the defendant a whore and said he had hated the little girl. He was also said to have been strangling the defendant's mother.

Bench chairman Barbara Harvey told Ryan - who sobbed as the court heard details of the road accident which claimed three-year-old Levi's life - that prison was the staring point for the offence. But, she added, the circumstances of the case were unique and the court had departed from the usual sentencing guidelines because of the child's very recent tragic death and because of the provocation.

Ryan was given a two year conditional discharge with £50 costs. Mrs Harvey said the court was making no order for compensation because of Mr Finnigan's conduct. The defendant, then living in Padiham, but now of Arthur Street, Clayton-le-Moors, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm on October 2.

Andrew Creswell, prosecuting, told the court the defendant had been out with her mother for a drink and returned home. Mr Finnigan, then Ryan's mother's boyfriend, was watching TV and words were exchanged between the parties.

A physical confrontation followed, at first between Mr Finnigan and Ryan's partner, and it was suggested Mr Finnigan had been strangling the defendant's mother.

During the altercation Ryan picked up a vase and hurled it at Mr Finnigan, hitting him on the head. Mr Finnigan suffered a gash and had to go to hospital where he had seven stitches.

Mr Creswell said police were called and when they arrived both the defendant and her mother accepted responsibility for the victim's injury. Both were arrested and after being interviewed Ryan admitted she caused the injury. She was charged and her mother released.

The prosecutor said the defendant told officers the reason she reacted as she had was because Mr Finnigan had made "very unkind" comments about Levi.

Graeme Tindall, defending, said Ryan had been subject to "very, very extreme provocation".

Mr Tindall said Levi was killed in a hit and run accident on September 9 as she crossed the road with the defendant. The child's funeral was on September 22 and hundreds of people from Padiham attended.

Ryan had been devastated by the child's death and was receiving treatment from her doctor. She had the support of her family and she had been entitled to expect the same support from Mr Finnigan, who had been her mother's partner for four years and was effectively in the role of her stepfather.

Ryan's mother and Mr Finnigan had now split up.

Mr Tindall said it appeared Mr Finnigan had been drinking and Ryan had had alcohol. The solicitor told the court the defendant's sister told in her statement to police how Mr Finnigan had asked if there were ""any druggies or whores upstairs?" He had been told to leave the house, had refused and her mother had called the police.

The sister then heard her mother making strange noises. She saw her sitting on the toilet and Mr Finnigan had his hands around her mum's throat and was strangling her. Ryan appeared, she and Mr Finnigan had a scuffle and their mother separated the two of them.

Mr Tindall said Ryan's sister reported Mr Finnigan calling the defendant a tart and saying he didn't care about Levi's death and had hated the child.

The solicitor said Ryan threw the vase at the victim in temper. He continued: "This is an exceptional case with exceptional circumstances. It was a unique situation and will never happen again."