Two women came to blows in front of other parents and children at a primary school after one accused the other of sleeping with her ex, a court has heard.
Mother-of-four Natasha Sherlock, 29, and mother-of-three Samantha Rylance, 28, had a fight while collecting their children from Sommerville Primary School in Seacombe on the Wirral last July.
In front of a crowd of shocked bystanders, Sherlock accused her fellow parent of sleeping with her ex-boyfriend before shouting, ‘Do not f**ing talk to my kids’, as her daughter waved at her rival.
The pair then scuffled on the tarmac in a scrap which saw Rylance slap Sherlock who then punched Rylance in the face.
The fight was eventually broken up by Rylance’s partner Callum Roberts and Sherlock’s father, who had been helping collect the children.
Police were called by Rylance and were passed CCTV of the incident by the school’s headmaster.
Sherlock was later arrested at her home. Both women were left with black eyes following the melee.
At Sefton Magistrates’ Court on Monday, Sherlock, from Birkenhead on the Wirral, stood trial for assault by beating but was cleared after insisting she acted in self-defence.
Mother-of-four Natasha Sherlock, and mother-of-three Samantha Rylance, pictured, had a fight while collecting their children from school
But District Judge Paul Healey, who viewed the CCTV, said: ‘This took place on a school playground, with parents and kids around. It is a thoroughly unpleasant incident to witness.’
Rylance told the hearing: ‘I was coming onto the playground and her daughter waved at me. I looked at her and that is when she hurled abuse.
‘She said, “Do not f**ing look at my children.” It was quite loud and there were other parents there.
‘I just walked away then collected my little boy and left the small playground to go to the main playground to meet the kids’ dad Callum who was collecting the other children.
‘But I saw Natasha talking to him and she being aggressive and screaming and shouting at Callum. When she saw me she said: “Yes, f****ing you.”
‘I said “Leave it, we are on the playground. There are kids around.”
‘But she said, “Come on, come on, let’s go outside” and started grabbing my top. She was screaming and shouting.
‘She initially knocked my glasses off and as gentleman picked them she was pulling on my top.
‘I knocked her hand away to defend myself but she swung and hit me across the face and that is when it turned into the fight itself.
‘After the incident I felt awful. The kids did not want to go to school or let me to take them to school in case I got attacked again.’
The CCTV showed Sherlock walking up towards the camera with her father and two children.
She then stopped to speak to Callum who was walking in the opposite direction then turned around and saw Rylance.
Sherlock appeared to move back slightly but Rylance’s hands remained out of view. Sherlock was then seen punching Rylance with her right hand to the left side of her face.
Callum told the hearing: ‘Natasha was angry. She said, ‘You best sort her out’ or ‘Sort your missis out.’ Samantha approached and Natasha said ‘Yeah, you’. She then ended up grabbing her and then punched her. I was really worried about the kids. There were arms flying everywhere. ‘
A police report of the incident said: ‘Natasha claims Samantha has slept with her boyfriend causing them to fall out and they have not spoken in a while. She says Rylance approached her but and denies grabbing her clothes and swearing at her. She further claims Rylance hit just below her right eye and has hit her back as a reaction and in self-defence. ‘
In her evidence Sherlock agreed she had fallen out with Rylance and added: ‘It was quite a bad one. On that day she said ‘Hi’ to my daughter and I said ‘Do not talk to my child.’ I knew she was trying to wind me up.’
‘I saw Callum and I said to him ‘Tell her not to speak to me or the kids’. But I heard her shouting and it escalated from there. I said to Samantha, ‘Here, let’s go to the office and tell them what a dirty little coke-head you are. At that point she slapped me and I responded.
‘I felt I had no choice. I was overwhelmed and I felt scared and threatened. I did not know what else to do. I think she only slapped me because she did not want to go to the office. It freaked me out and it scared me. I had my kids with me. I did not know if she was going to hit me again. Obviously it was a shock to everyone when I smacked back but I got hit first.
‘I tried walking off but Samantha carried on screaming stuff. If anyone was attacked it was me and I hit her back. I was only aggressive when she started shouting at me.’
Sherlock’s father Robert said: ‘I saw Samantha throw a slap at my daughter and my daughter hit her. I had hold of a pram but I just reacted and jumped in the middle. I put my arms up and tried to prevent any more. I was shocked. It happened so quickly. It was a bit of banter at first then all of a sudden I saw it go boom.’
Sherlock’s lawyer Paul Davison said: ‘The complainant was the aggressor. If she is scared of the defendant and if she hears the defendant shout words when she has a young child with her, why approach unless you are looking for trouble? You just wouldn’t but she does.’
