A MOTHER-of-four broke a company director's ankle by stamping on him a number of times inside a Kiddermin-ster nightclub.

Former pub licensee, Belinda Matthews, attacked Sean Trow as he lay helpless on the floor during a fight with her husband.

Mr Trow needed eight screws and a plate inserted in his right foot during an operation and had six weeks off work to recover, Worcester Crown Court heard.

He suffered a dislocated foot, a deformed ankle, two breaks of his ankle joint and torn ligaments.

Prosecutor, Kate Iliffe, said Mr Trow would permanently lose some mobility and had to miss a booked holiday with his children.

Matthews, 42, of Wilton Avenue, Kidderminster, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Judge John Cavell said immediate custody would also punish the defendant's children, whose ages ranged from 11 to 17.

Instead, he gave her a 40-week jail term, suspended for two years, and ordered her to carry out 100 hours of unpaid community work.

The judge added: "I can't imagine what possessed you to behave as you did. You stamped with great force on your victim's ankle when he was in no position to do anything about it."

Miss Iliffe said there was a history of bad feeling between the defendant's husband, Stephen Matthews, and Mr Trow.

The ex-wife of Mr Matthews had a relationship with Mr Trow six years ago, causing Mr Matthews to move out of his former matrimonial home and lose contact with his children.

Trouble erupted at the DY10 club in Dixon Street, Kidderminster, on September 24 last year around 1.30am.

Mr Matthews allegedly approached Mr Trow and told him "we've unfinished business", said Miss Iliffe.

The defendant began the violence by grabbing the victim's face and a fight then broke out. She spat at Mr Trow three times before stamping on his ankle. Bouncers stopped the scuffle.

Matthews told police she became angry, claiming it was Mr Trow who began the trouble.

Defence counsel, Michael Aspinall, said Matthews was a woman of no previous convictions who had worked in nursing, retail management and the pub trade.

It was "a terrible irony" that she became violent, having suffered from violence herself in a previous relationship.

Mr Aspinall added: "She recognises that by her actions she put her family in jeopardy. She is extremely remorseful and doesn't attempt to minimise her culpability."

Mr Matthews, a landscape gardener with Wyre Forest District Council, has been charged with assault and is due to appear before a magistrates' court.