A MOTHER-of-four was warned she could be jailed for attacking a woman with a pair of cricket stumps.

Kellie Smith flew into a rage after a phone call from Melba Jones.

The women had a history of trouble between them, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Smith went round to an address in Abbeydale and struck out following a verbal confrontation, said Ian Speed, prosecuting.

Miss Jones, who suffered bruising to her head, neck and chest, needed hospital treatment.

Last year, Smith - whose children are aged seven to 15 - was convicted of another injury assault and given a 12-month conditional discharge.

Deputy judge Peter Stretton warned 33-year-old Smith, of Laburnum Close, Redditch: "It is highly likely that a prison sentence is necessary. You need to be taught that you cannot use violence."

He adjourned the case until February 11 for a medical report and an assessment on Smith's suitability to carry out unpaid community work.

She admitted assaulting Miss Jones and causing her actual bodily harm. She also pleaded guilty to possession of the stumps as offensive weapons.

Mr Speed said the phone call on August 14 last year annoyed her "for no apparent reason". The victim was also punched and kicked.

Smith told police she acted in a pre-emptive strike, fearing violence.

Defence counsel Dele Alakija said Smith was badly bullied at school but now stood up for herself, although she had over-reacted in the incident.

She confessed she was "wound up" by the phone call, arming herself with the stumps because she believed Miss Jones would not be alone.

Mr Alakija said Smith had been a victim of depression for three years. The illness might be related to the loss of a fifth child.