'Playboy' model walks free over nightclub attack

A former Playboy Model of the Year walked free from court yesterday after being given a suspended sentence for attacking a woman in a nightclub toilet cubicle in a jealous row over her husband.

Louise Glover, 27, struck Maxine Hardcastle's head against a toilet rim up to 10 times and tried to push her head down the lavatory during a night out in Brighton, East Sussex.

She was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm following a trial at Hove Crown Court in December last year and returned to the court today, where a judge shouted at her to "shut up and listen" after she repeatedly called out from the dock.

Miss Hardcastle - the daughter of 1980s musician Paul Hardcastle - was left covered in blood and suffered hair loss, facial bruising and scratches to her arms and legs in what Judge Charles Kemp described as a "vicious and unprovoked attack".

It was motivated by an "irrational surge of jealousy", but more worrying, he said, was the "complete absence of any sign of remorse" from Glover.

Glover, dressed in a white coat and black miniskirt with black knee-high boots, called out from the dock several times during the hearing, which was delayed due to her late arrival.

When prosecutor Andrew Judge told the court she had a previous conviction for assaulting a police constable in 2001, she shouted: "No I didn't."

Glover could also be heard murmuring when he said she had received a caution for assault occasioning actual bodily harm following an incident in London's Pacha nightclub in 2005.

The judge warned her she would be taken down to the cells if she refused to be quiet in scenes similar to when she was found guilty and launched an angry tirade at him.

Handing her a 30-week prison sentence to be suspended for two years, Judge Kemp said the attack has continued to have an emotional and psychological impact on Miss Hardcastle, and she remains unable to enjoy nights out as she did before.

He also referred to her self-consciousness as a result of her hair having been pulled out by Glover, and told her she of all people should understand what it is "to be robbed of those attributes".

"You, Miss Glover, are a woman who has made a living based on your appearance, your self-confidence and your outgoing nature," he said.