A woman has been jailed for five-and-a-half years for a knife attack in Weymouth.
Toyah Louise Holmes, aged 22 of Bridlebank Way in Weymouth, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday 21 June 2019 for inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent. She was found guilty of the charge following a trial at the same court in March 2019.
The incident occurred in Ranelagh Road at round 6.50pm Sunday 28 October 2018.
Holmes had met her victim, a local woman who was 19 at the time, around a month earlier and the pair had been engaged in arguments over social media.
The victim had just got off a train and was walking along the road when she was approached from behind by the defendant, who grabbed her hair and slashed her forehead with a knife.
Friends of the victim, who had been nearby and heard her shouting, arrived on the scene and took her to the nearby Premier store in Queen Street, where an ambulance was called.
One of the friends described seeing Holmes holding a knife that was around 10cm long and heard her shout ‘that is what you get’ as she walked off.
Holmes was arrested later that evening.
The victim required surgery for a 25cm cut to her forehead.
Detective Constable George Graham, of Weymouth CID, said: “This was a nasty attack by a defendant armed with a knife and it is fortunate that the injury was not even more serious.
“I would like to praise the victim for having the courage to come forward and all the witnesses who gave evidence at trial for their support.
“We are only too aware of the potentially devastating impacts of carrying a knife and Dorset Police is committed to reducing knife crime across the county.
“We will continue to work in conjunction with our partners to identify those at risk and those who present the greatest threat in terms of knife-related crime.”
If you are concerned that anyone is carrying a knife, please report it to the police online by visiting www.dorset.police.uk/do-it-online or call 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.
Other support, advice and reporting options are also available:
• KnifeFree provides advice and signposts support services, as well as activities to help young people turn away from knife crime. www.knifefree.co.uk
• Fearless is a service that allows you to pass on information about crime 100 per cent anonymously. This means you don’t have to give us any personal details. www.fearless.org
