A woman suffered a nasty hand injury when a man used a plastic shopping bag containing glasses and alcohol bottles as a weapon.

A court was told Paul Thomas Ince, 23, swung the bag and the victim put her hand out to defend herself.

It struck her with such force that one of the bottles broke and caused a gash to the hand which went down to the bone and cut her tendons.

Victim Catherine Evans has no longer been able to continue with her career as a hairdresser because of the jury.

Ince, of Cefn Road, Abenbury, near Wrexham, admitted wounding Miss Evans on June 24.

Mold Crown Court was told it was accepted that he had acted recklessly.

Ince escaped immediate custody and received a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 16 months.

He was placed on 25 days rehabilitation, and he was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work in the community.

He was also ordered to pay compensation £1,000 to Miss Evans.

The court heard how Ince suffered from dyslexia and learning disabilities and was in full-time employment.

Judge Niclas Parry told him: “Out of control of your senses, because you drank alcohol to excess, you were responsible for causing a very serious injury.

“You caused the victim a deep cut to the thumb which damaged the tendons and she needed surgery and plastic surgery.”

That injury, he said, was caused by glass contained in a plastic shopping bag which “you were swinging about indiscriminately, causing an obvious danger”.

That bag containing glass was a weapon.

The court heard Ince had been out of trouble for three years.

He was a working man and the judge said justice would be far better served by a suspended sentence with conditions and compensation.

Barrister Gareth Roberts, prosecuting, said in a victim impact statement Miss Evans told how she had to curtail her career because she could not cut hair after she suffered the injury.

She was depressed because of that and had been reliving what had happened every day.

He said Miss Evans was having a party at her home with friends in June and Ince and his partner were there.

When Ince went to the shops he received a text from his girlfriend to say she was upset about some texts she had seen.

On his return there was an argument between Ince and his girlfriend which became heated.

Ince was asked to leave a couple of times and did so but he returned and at one stage another man was remonstrating with him.

Miss Evans, fearing what might happen, stood between them and Ince raised and swung the plastic bag.

“She put her hand up to defend herself but the bag made forceful contact with her hand,” said Mr Roberts.

“The glass smashed causing a deep wound between the thumb and finger which cut her tendons and for which she needed surgery.”

He ran off after the incident which left her with a wound which bled.

Henry Hills, defending, said his client could not get away from the fact that it was a really serious injury but he was not a bad person.

It had been a reckless act. He found himself in a conflict situation and he just did not know how to deal with it appropriately.

He did feel remorse. “He knows that he should not have done it,” he said.

Mr Hills said Ince had a limited criminal record, he himself was vulnerable and suffered from dyslexia and borderline learning difficulty.

He had a strong work ethic and had worked since leaving school.

The offence clearly passed the custody threshold but Mr Hills urged the court to draw back from an immediate sentence.