Women jailed after vicious assault during house raid

Drug addicts Maxine Pollin, 37, who used to live in Amble, and Cheryl Carter, 41, of no fixed address, were so desperate for another hit that they forced entry into a house in Rowlands Gill in a bid to steal prescription drugs.

When inside the property, the pair attacked the 32-year-old occupant and subjected her to a number of violent attacks while demanding she hand over her prescribed painkillers.

During the assault, the pair dragged her round her house by her hair, grabbed her throat and kneed her in the face before Carter slashed her face with shards of a pint glass she had smashed.

Eventually the pair stopped the attack and left the property following the incident on September 21 last year, but the victim had to have 57 stitches to the five-inch slash across her left cheek.

The pair were later arrested by police and charged with wounding with intent and robbery. Carter admitted both charges, while Pollin was found guilty of robbery but cleared of wounding with intent following a trial.

At Newcastle Crown Court last Wednesday, Carter was jailed for nine years and Pollin, from Whinfield Terrace, Highfield, Rowlands Gill, has been put behind bars for five years and four months.