St Albans mother jailed for 27 months after violent attack (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Fiona Harmer of St Albans jailed for 27 months after violent attack

1:00pm Friday 15th February 2013 in News By Court Reporter

When St Albans mother Fiona Harmer discovered her boyfriend was seeing another woman, she went to the home of her rival.

A court heard that on the doorstep she attacked another woman who came to the door.

Harmer, 24, struck the woman over the head with what was described in court as a crowbar or metal bar.

It left the woman, Remie Brown with a nasty cut to her head.

At St Albans Crown Court on Thursday Harmer, of Holyrood Crescent in St Albans, appeared for sentence pleading guilty to one offence of aggravated burglary.

Kevin West prosecuting told the court how Harmer had been in a relationship with Mark Hardey, but discovered he was seeing another woman called Amanda Dervish.

On August 20 last year Miss Harmer went to Miss Dervish's home in Maynard Drive, St Albans.

Also there at the time were Mr Hardey and Remie Brown plus a number of young children.

Judge Andrew Bright QC was told Harmer knocked at the door but before doing so had picked up a metal bar she found in the garden.

The prosecutor said it was not Miss Dervish who came to the door, but Remie Brown, who was immediately struck over the head by Harmer wielding the bar.

The victim screamed out and a cut to her head was spurting blood.

Mr Hardey managed to disarm Harmer and get her out of the house.

Police were called and she was arrested.

Fedon Kazantzis defending, said the attack with the bar was not planned and she had found the bar on her arrival at the house and picked it up.

Judge Bright was told Harmer had a previous conviction for aggravated burglary after she slipped into the staff area at the Waterend Barn armed with a knife and went through a handbag and tried to steal bottles of alcohol.

Passing sentence, the judge told her she had already chalked up 20 previous convictions involving a total of 54 offences and told her "You are turning into something of a menace."

He said the offence she was before the court for, crossed the custody threshold by a long way and he jailed her for 27 months.

He also made her the subject of a restraining order not to have any contact with Amanda Dervish or Mr Hardey.