by Megi RychlikovaA MOTHER who twice stabbed another woman with a knife was saved from a jail sentence by her four-week-old baby.

Judge Peter Baker, QC, put Lesley Ann Herbert, 29, on probation for two years, so she could continue looking after her child.

But he warned that a young child did not necessarily mean that a mother convicted of an offence would not go to jail.

Herbert, of Highmoor Road, Dringhouses, York, admitted wounding Roma Burnside on April 29.

David Bradshaw, prosecuting, said that Herbert had gone round to Miss Burnside's home on a pretext involving dogs.

But when an argument started between the two women, Herbert pulled out a knife and stabbed her twice.

One of the wounds was on Miss Burnside's shoulder blade.

Robert Terry said in mitigation that Herbert had given birth on June 19, was on benefit and had no savings.The judge then decided not to make any award for costs or compensation.

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