A WOMAN had some of her hair ripped out as she fought a friend in full view of passers-by outside Carlisle’s railway station.

Lana McVay, 38, got into the fight after she said something that caused 49-year-old Tammy Potts offence, a defence lawyer told magistrates. Both woman admitted using threatening words and behaviour.

Carlisle’s Rickergate court heard that it happened on May 18, on a grassy area near to the city’s railway station.  McVay and Potts were shouting and swearing as they fought.

Defence lawyer Andrew Gurney said that McVay, of Main Street, Brampton, had a tragic background. Because she was an alcoholic, she led a chaotic life.

“She’s been killing herself with alcohol for some time,” said the lawyer. She had recently spent time in hospital for a medical issue.

Referring to the fight, Mr Gurney said that while she was drinking with a friend, the other woman took umbrage at something McVay said. “She was grabbed by the hair, ripping some of it out,” said Mr Gurney.

“It was all rather unseemly.”

He urged magistrates to give McVay “one last chance”, saying she was willing to work with the Probation Service to address her alcohol issue. The defendant, who has 31 previous offences on her record, was fined £120.

She must pay £85 costs and a £48 victim surcharge. Potts, whose address is not given in court records, was also fined after she admitted the same offence.