A MUM-OF-TWO deliberately drove her partner’s BMW at four teenagers who had played ‘knock and run’ on her front door leaving one with a broken leg.

Nicole Lyons, 25, sent another of the lads flying in the air but the final two managed to jump out of her way at the junction between Sandford Drive and Tarporley Road in Tarvin.

Chester Crown Court heard on Wednesday, January 15, that she had seen red after spotting the teens from her upstairs window on the afternoon of January 2 last year.

The housing estate had reportedly been plagued by similar anti-social behaviour, although this was not pinned exclusively on the four complainants.

Lyons, who has now moved to Leicestershire, was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

As she was let out of the dock she said “I’m sorry” to three of the boys, who were in the court’s public gallery.

Myles Wilson, prosecuting, said the four victims had been playing ‘knock and run’ on the Saxon Heath estate where Lyons was living.

“As they ran away the defendant appeared in the upstairs window,” the barrister said. “She shouted a threat at them along the lines of she would cut their throats.”

Lyons’ partner, who had not been in the house at the time, described her asking to borrow his BMW 420d to make a trip to the shops.

She then saw the four at the junction, cancelled her indicator and crossed the road towards them.

“She accelerated and mounted the pavement with all four wheels and drove directly at them,” Mr Wilson said. “They tried to run away but two were struck.”

The car’s bumper hit one of the boys in the leg, knocking him over and leaving him with a broken tibia, or shin bone.

“His foot was described as pointing in the wrong direction,” Mr Wilson told the court.

Another of the teenagers, who were aged between 14 and 15, was flung into the air leaving him with cuts and bruises.

The other two managed to evade the car, which stopped, reversed off the pavement and drove off.

Witnesses pointed police in the direction of Lyons, who it transpired had previously written a message on a Facebook residents’ group page telling the boys they had “messed with the wrong house” and would have their “throats ripped out” if they came near her house again.

In her police interview, the defendant said she had been scared by the boys’ shouting and swearing and denied making threats.

She said she had driven slowly towards them and only had one wheel on the pavement, but accepted she had been driving dangerously when photos of the tyre marks were shown to her.

Lyons later pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm, dangerous driving and failing to stop at and report an incident.

The main victim was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital where he had to undergo an operation on his right tibia.

In a victim impact statement, the boy said he still had ankle issues and had broken down emotionally two or three times a day in the month after the incident. He also missed six weeks of school.

All four said the incident had affected them, with one saying: “I can’t get that woman’s angry face out of my head and the noise of the engine as she drove at us.”

Wayne Jackson, defending, said: “She accepts she didn’t exactly cover herself in glory on that particular day.”

He suggested the boys were not the innocent victims they were claiming to be, prompting Judge Simon Berkson to interject saying: “They were playing a game that I’m afraid teenagers have been playing in this country [for decades].”

Mr Jackson said there had been previous incidents of antisocial behaviour and stones being thrown at houses.

He told the court: “Her reaction, such as it was, was against a background of these type of incidents taking place on the estate.”

The barrister stressed his client was remorseful and had been classed as vulnerable by her GP. She also suffers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a previous abusive relationship.

Lyons, who has a previous conviction for drink-driving, has two young children aged one and three and is now a single parent.

Sentencing, Judge Berkson said: “This was a very dangerous piece of deliberate bad driving. It is fortunate the injuries were not worse than they are.”

However, he said he felt he could suspend the inevitable prison sentence and also ordered Lyons to carry out 35 days of rehabilitation activity.

Lyons, of Bishop Hall Road, Ashby De La Zouch, was made the subject of a nightly curfew for six months and was banned from driving for two years.

Following the hearing, the father of one of the boys told reporters he felt Lyons had “got off lightly” but that he didn’t want her to go to prison on account of her children.