Four people, including a 70-year-old woman, have been spared jail after a "disgusting" display of violence "like a pack of animals" when a night of drinking descended into a brawl on a public path - with one defendant even being given time off her curfew to take a trip to Spain with her five-year-old daughter.
Margaret Docherty, 70, of Tweedale Street, and 42-year-old Lindsey Pollard, of Partington Street, were both at a party with 31-year-old Umar Ashiq, of Nicholson Street, to celebrate a neighbour's 40th birthday, drinking outside one of the flats on the Freehold estate in Rochdale on the night of September 12, 2020.
As the group partied, 25-year-old Akib Iqbal, of Halifax Road, headed towards one of the flats with Madasar Iqbal, who shared the home with his partner who had previously been in a relationship with Ashiq, and Madasar's partner. As the trio walked past the gathering, Madasar's partner made a comment to the group about Ashiq's wife, which sparked a "disgusting" display of violence that five people have now been sentenced for.
