Woman left friend with horror injuries after plunging smashed gin glass into her face

A woman left her friend with horrific injuries after plunging a smashed gin glass into her face.

Collette Hanchard had been enjoying a summer’s night in the victim’s outhouse at her home when she suddenly carried out the unprovoked attack.

The 55-year-old laundry worker later messaged the victim, stating she had a cut finger and could not remember what happened.

A judge, who cast doubt on Hanchard’s claims, heard how the victim has been left with “extensive” scars and could have died, but for urgent medical treatment.

First offender Hanchard is now behind bars after she pled guilty to an aggravated assault charge during a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow.

The attacker had gone to the victim’s home in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, on June 14, 2024.

Hanchard was described as being in “good spirits”.

The women were initially in the living room before going into the back garden to socialise.

Prosecutor David Fisken told the court: “They remained outside chatting and listening to music.”

Around midnight, Hanchard told the victim she had called a taxi, but was going to visit the toilet before she left.

She was clutching a green-stemmed gin glass at the time.

Mr Fisken then explained: “Hanchard was away for two to three minutes while [the victim] remained in the outhouse.

“[The victim] then heard glass smashing. Hanchard came to the door of the outhouse, took a large step towards the victim, who felt a terrible pain to the left side of her face and neck.

“She covered her face with her hands and crouched over.

“Hanchard then threw her right hand towards [the woman’s] face, who this time felt extreme pain to the front of it.”

The badly wounded woman got away from Hanchard and yelled for her husband, who was upstairs.

Mr Fisken said: “He ran down and saw her holding her neck with blood pouring out from it.

“[The woman] said to him: ‘She has been attacking me’.”

The man grabbed a towel to help his wife and shouted at Hanchard to get out of their home.

But, she instead sauntered back into the outhouse “as if nothing had happened”.

The woman’s husband physically grabbed her and threw her onto the street. Hanchard soon left in a taxi.

The victim was rushed to the hospital with injuries to her cheek, ear, lip and neck.

She left on June 16 after medical help.

Mr Fisken said: “The potential consequences of treatment not being provided were bleeding, scarring, infection and death.

“Frances has been left with extensive permanent scarring and a loss of feeling down the left side of her neck as well as behind the ear.”

The court heard Hanchard messaged the victim via Facebook after the attack and also left voicemails.

In one text, she claimed: “Hi…what happened last night. I can’t remember a thing.

“Cut finger, blood everywhere. I’m really sorry if I’ve done something cause your a really good friend xxx”.

She said in a voicemail just hours after the crime that she had woke up with “blood everywhere” adding: “Can you help me please?”

Hanchard later told police she had no memory of the time the attack happened, but could recall being asked to leave by the woman’s husband.

Hanchard pled guilty to a charge of assaulting her friend to her severe injury, permanent disfigurement and impairment as well as danger of her life.

Judge Alistair Watson told her: “This is a somewhat bizarre case.

“A person your age, having gone through life without getting into trouble, should then commit a crime of such gravity.

“A crime that has had life-changing consequences for someone who considered you a friend.

“You changed her life dramatically. It is difficult to understand how this occurred, unprovoked as it was.

“You claim to have little or no memory – yet appear to recall things earlier in the evening and appear later to have some degree of memory.

“It does rather make one suspicious as to whether you do genuinely have no memory of this.

“In the meantime, the likelihood of a significant custodial sentence seems overwhelming, and it would be inappropriate to allow you to remain at liberty.”

Hanchard, of Bellshill, also Lanarkshire, will be sentenced next month.