Criminology student, 26, attacked McDonald's worker with her mobile phone after she was told to leave the restaurant

An Open University criminology student used her mobile phone as a weapon to split open the head of a hero McDonalds worker during a vicious late night beating.

Rachel Lomax, 26, jumped on Shaun Bannon and repeatedly battered him over the back of the head with the device as the victim bravely intervened after violence flared when she was asked to leave.

During the 11.40pm assault Mr Bannon tried to restrain Lomax's boyfriend Tyler Ager only to feel 'banging' against the back of his head multiple times before blood gushed down his forehead.

He was left with a deep one-and-a-half inch cut to his head which required stapling.

When quizzed office administrator Lomax, from St Helens, Merseyside who is also studying law blamed her violent behaviour on 'unresolved' mental health issues.

At Warrington magistrates' court, she faced up to six months jail after she admitted assault by beating under sentencing guidelines but was given 12 weeks in prison, suspended for a year. She was also ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation activity days and pay Mr Bannon £350 in compensation.

The incident occurred on October 1 last year when Lomax and Ayger, 28, were at McDonald's restaurant in Widnes.

Nicola Parr, prosecuting said: 'Mr Bannon was working in the back kitchen when he heard an argument in the front between customers and management. He did not think much about it as it happens all the time around that time of night.

'But then he heard someone threatening someone with being stabbed, so he went through to the front saw two colleagues trying to negotiate with a male and a female to try and get them to leave the restaurant.

'One of these colleagues was attempting to escort the male out of the restaurant but saw that he was tensing his fist towards the colleague. He went over to try and assist him to try to calm the male down. As he has done so the male has suddenly tensed up his body and assaulted him.

'Whilst on the floor the victim felt banging against the back of his head multiple times. At the time he did not know who was hitting him or with what.. It was only afterwards that he found out it was the female before the court hitting him with her mobile phone.

'He immediately felt blood running down his head but did not want to let go of the male and someone else grabbed the female from him.

'The victim sustained a significant injury which required two staples to the back of his head due to a cut one and a half inches in length. It was quite deep according to the paramedic.

Lomax had a previous conviction for racially aggravated assault from 2022 for which she received a community penalty. her lawyer Ian Weights, said in mitigation: 'She is genuinely sorry for what has happened and is perhaps not the kind of person you may have assumed she would be.

'She is working hard and is clearly clever. She as got a very good job working for a company with prospects of management. She is on a good salary and is undertaking a law degree. As you can see it is going to be difficult to utilise that degree with the convictions that she has now.'

He added: 'There had been an issue that day and it was started by the male involved in this incident. She intervened when her partner was being hurt. She had not quite appreciated that the victim was perfectly entitled to do what he was doing.

'She reacted emotionally and impulsively and is sorry for what happened. She deeply regrets that. 'Alcohol is not an enduring problem. Since this incident she has effectively stopped. 'She had unresolved mental health problems.'

'For someone in the process of acquiring a qualification in law it is quite a punishment knowing that it is going to be very difficult to do something with that degree because of this conviction.

Sentencing Lomas JP Keith Gleave told her: 'This offence was committed late at night. You were in drink. You used a weapon and it was an assault on a vulnerable person who at the time was on the floor. It was a sustained attack, causing the victim to require hospital treatment for a deep cut and blood loss. He was also a member of staff and he was just going about his business.'

Ayger, from Bedford, Bedfordshire will face trial for assault in June. He denies wrongdoing.