Doncaster woman’s knife bid to stop violent attack on mum and family

Lucy Ancliffe produced the blade and waved it in the air during a confrontation between a woman, whose daughter had been assaulted, and the man accused of assaulting her, at 9.10pm, on April 29, last year.

The mother shouted "Put the knife away" and Ancliffe replied "I am trying to calm it down," prosecutor Amy Earnshaw told Sheffield Crown Court, on Thursday.

In a statement, the woman said she has struggled to sleep and suffers recurring nightmares.

"I have been prescribed sleeping pills but I still get nightmares," she said. "The doctor has diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder."

Joy Merriam, mitigating, said "it's clear that she and her family were subject to a sustained attack" but Ancliffe "wasn't responsible for the disorder."

She said Ancliffe, currently on remand at HMP Newhall, underwent an "enforced detox" from drugs which she described as a "wake-up call."

The court heard that Ancliffe has led a "chaotic life" and her children are in care.

Ancliffe, 38, of Cliff View, Denaby Main, Mexborough, pleaded guilty to possession of a blade and three counts of failing to surrender, at a pre-trial hearing.

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson, told her: "You waved the knife, intending to quell the situation. It almost certainly had the opposite effect.

"You didn't have a hostile intent but you shouldn't have done it.

"You were using drugs, your life was in disarray and you have a whole host of mental health problems."

He described her life as "very sad" and described the men she associated with as "less than satisfactory."

"I am being merciful to you because I do recognise the dreadful life you have led,” he said. “Choose your friends better, please.

"Don't let me down and don't let yourself down."

The judge sentenced her to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered a three month curfew, from 7pm to 7am, 25 rehabilitation days and a six month drug programme.