A single mum who embarked on a foul-mouthed rant at a neighbour told a court her violent outburst was down to her "time of the month".
Sabrina Abdelkader, 33, pleaded guilty to using threatening behaviour, criminal damage and assault by beating at Chester Magistrates Court - her lawyer said this was because her hormones had been “all over the place” at the time of the incident.
The court heard how Abdelkader squared up to her neighbour, screamed in her face and tried to push her all while Abelkader's bemused son aged six looked on.
The altercation, which was eventually broken up after a neighbour stepped in, came after Abdelkader accused the neighbour of splashing paint on a chair she had lent her to decorate her house.
When asked about the attack Abdelkader who lives on Universal Credit in the Lache area of Chester said she had over-reacted to the paint accident as she was suffering from "menstrual pain" and claimed her hormones were "all over the place."
Tanya Berridge-Burley, prosecuting, said: "The complainant had lived at her address for approximately four days. She has known her neighbour, the defendant Sabrina Abdelkader, for three years in total as she used to live next door to her before moving away.
"On approximately September 8, the complainant moved back to the area just around the corner from the defendant. The defendant came to visit her address. The complainant said she has an intense personality and likes to get very close.
"She did not have any issues with this but at times she found it a bit too much. As she had moved to a new address she had been redecorating. The defendant was nice enough to let her borrow a chair to reach the top of the walls.
"She was returning the chair at the end of every day but the defendant told her to keep it until she was done with it.
"On September 10, the complainant had been painting the living room for most of the day when the neighbour invited her over for a drink in the evening. She used the chair and sat at the front door talking to neighbours.
"At this point there were no issues with the defendant who had never presented as angry at her or anything like that.
"However, at approximately 9.30am on September 11, she was woken up by the phone ringing. She checked to see who it was, it was the defendant video calling her on Facetime.
"She did not think anything about it and answered the call. "'What the f**k have you done with my chair?' the defendant said. The complainant was taken aback by this. She asked what she was talking about but the defendant was angry, saying that her chair was covered in paint.
"The complainant knew there was some paint on the chair and intended to wash it off but it was not 'covered' in paint. However the defendant was continuously shouting and swearing on the video call, leaving the complainant feeling extremely intimidated.
"The call lasted for just under a minute. However, the shouting and swearing at her was non-stop.
"After the call she was shocked and anxious. She knew the defendant lived very close by and was concerned for her safety and her children's safety. At approximately 9.45am she heard the door being banged repeatedly. The door bell was also being repeatedly rung.
"She went downstairs to see the defendant walk away from the door. At about 10.30am, she saw the defendant's son running around the corner. After this she looked down and saw mashed up brown banana. She saw the residue of the banana all over her door.
"She went to the defendant's house to try and understand what the issue was but the defendant was outside the house and still angry.
"Are you taking the piss out of my chair?', she said. The whole time the child was outside the door. She was shouting in her face and squaring up to her the whole time. The complainant asked her to calm down, saying 'Your child is here.' She said 'I do not care.' The defendant accused the complainant of trying to embarrass her.
"She said she had no reason to do anything to her. She had been nothing but nice to her prior to this incident. However, the defendant appeared to get more angry and pushed the complainant with two hands on the shoulder causing her to step backwards.
"Another neighbour stepped in as this happened and got her back to the house.
"The complainant walked away but was extremely distressed."
Abdelkader had no previous convictions. Her solicitor Peter Barnett. "It would seem that she has a number of issues and she said at the time she was acting completely out of character. She was suffering from menstrual pain and not thinking clearly. Her hormones were all over the place. She acted completely inappropriately.
"This was a one-off situation. There was a loaning of a chair. There was some paint on it which was inconsequential but it touched a nerve and she reacted. She had a complete loss of temper and went into melt down. Because of the circumstances, her anxiety and depression, the time of the month, it all came together in relation to the charge."
Sentencing chairwoman Mrs Theresa Whittingham told Abdelkader: "You are saying this is the result of personal circumstances and the time of the month. But 50% of the population have that problem and we do not go around behaving like this."
Abdelkader was ordered to pay £50 damages to the neighbour and was also fined £80 with £152 in costs.
