Olivia Cooke was left needing stitches on her eye after China Gold struck her with a wine glass to her face during a row at The Farmhouse Pub in West Malling in October 2018
A businesswoman who disfigured a Miss England finalist by smashing a wine glass into her face has been spared jail.
A judge had warned China Gold that her attack on beauty queen Olivia Cooke in a pub row ‘crossed the custody threshold by a mile’.
But sentencing her today, the 28-year-old sobbed in the dock as she was told although the victim had been ‘profoundly affected’, there was ‘a strong list of personal mitigation’ which enabled an 18-month jail term suspended for two years to be imposed.
Gold was also ordered to pay Miss Cooke £7,000 compensation within a fortnight and carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard she grabbed the beauty queen by her throat and then thrust her drink glass into her face causing it to shatter.
She then pushed it into her forehead for a second time, leaving her with a deep, 5cm cut to her forehead and glass embedded in a smaller wound above her left eye.
Miss Cooke also suffered a swollen left cheek and a heavily-bruised left eye.
Gold denied unlawful wounding, claiming she acted in self-defence because Miss Cooke, who is also a professional golfer, had allegedly hurled a glass at the back of her head.
She told Maidstone Crown Court she ‘instinctively reacted’ by spinning around and throwing her own glass back at the 22-year-old.
But Gold, who runs a vehicle recovery firm and a car body repair shop, was found unanimously guilty following less than an hour’s deliberation by the jury.
The prosecution case was told that Gold twice struck Miss Cooke with the glass – one blow to break it and the second to cause injury – during a row at The Farmhouse pub in West Malling, Kent, on October 19, 2018.
The beauty contestant needed a total of five stitches to what was described as ‘an ugly wound’ but went on to compete in last year’s Miss England final. However, she missed out on top spot and a place at Miss World.
She gave evidence at the trial in March and attended Gold’s sentencing hearing today, which had been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The court heard Miss Cooke still awaits plastic surgery to the resulting scarring on her face as well as to repair nerve damage, and was said to suffer from severe stress, anxiety, and depression.
Miss Cooke, who teaches golf to children, also feared discipline from the Professional Golfers’ Association and the Miss World Organisation after they received anonymous calls that she had been in a fight, the court heard.
Prosecutor Emin Kandola said the impact of the glass attack on her personal and professional life had been ‘substantial’.
But on reaching what Judge Philip Statman described as a ‘fair and just’ sentence, he said he had considered mitigating factors including her positive previous good character, her own diagnosed PTSD, the realistic prospect of rehabilitation, genuine remorse, and the current pandemic restrictions within prisons.
The court heard violence flared after Miss Cooke heard Gold make ‘crude comments’ about her sex life, including branding her a ‘slg’ and ‘slt’, during a night out.
Miss Cooke said she tried to ‘laugh it off’ but told Gold, who she had only met once before, that she did not ‘appreciate’ what she had said.
But the verbal abuse continued after Miss Cooke went outside into the pub courtyard and was accused by Gold of trying to start a fight.
Without warning, Gold then twice grabbed her around the throat before striking her with the glass, the court heard.
“It wasn’t a push, it was a grab. She had her wine glass in her other hand. I got her off my neck and pushed her off,” a tearful Miss Cooke told the jury.
Woman who disfigured Miss England finalist with wine glass during bar row spared jail
Olivia Cooke was left needing stitches on her eye after China Gold struck her with a wine glass to her face during a row at The Farmhouse Pub in West Malling in October 2018
China Gold was given an 18-month jail term suspended for two years for attacking
A businesswoman who disfigured a Miss England finalist by smashing a wine glass into her face has been spared jail.
A judge had warned China Gold that her attack on beauty queen Olivia Cooke in a pub row ‘crossed the custody threshold by a mile’.
But sentencing her today, the 28-year-old sobbed in the dock as she was told although the victim had been ‘profoundly affected’, there was ‘a strong list of personal mitigation’ which enabled an 18-month jail term suspended for two years to be imposed.
Gold was also ordered to pay Miss Cooke £7,000 compensation within a fortnight and carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard she grabbed the beauty queen by her throat and then thrust her drink glass into her face causing it to shatter.
Olivia Cooke needed five stitches to her eye after the attack
She then pushed it into her forehead for a second time, leaving her with a deep, 5cm cut to her forehead and glass embedded in a smaller wound above her left eye.
Gold denied unlawful wounding, claiming she acted in self-defence because Miss Cooke, who is also a professional golfer, had allegedly hurled a glass at the back of her head.
She told Maidstone Crown Court she ‘instinctively reacted’ by spinning around and throwing her own glass back at the 22-year-old.
But Gold, who runs a vehicle recovery firm and a car body repair shop, was found unanimously guilty following less than an hour’s deliberation by the jury.
The prosecution case was told that Gold twice struck Miss Cooke with the glass – one blow to break it and the second to cause injury – during a row at The Farmhouse pub in West Malling, Kent, on October 19, 2018.
The beauty contestant needed a total of five stitches to what was described as ‘an ugly wound’ but went on to compete in last year’s Miss England final. However, she missed out on top spot and a place at Miss World.
She gave evidence at the trial in March and attended Gold’s sentencing hearing today, which had been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
China Gold was also ordered to pay Miss Cooke £7,000 compensation (Image: PA)
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The court heard Miss Cooke still awaits plastic surgery to the resulting scarring on her face as well as to repair nerve damage, and was said to suffer from severe stress, anxiety, and depression.
Miss Cooke, who teaches golf to children, also feared discipline from the Professional Golfers’ Association and the Miss World Organisation after they received anonymous calls that she had been in a fight, the court heard.
Prosecutor Emin Kandola said the impact of the glass attack on her personal and professional life had been ‘substantial’.
But on reaching what Judge Philip Statman described as a ‘fair and just’ sentence, he said he had considered mitigating factors including her positive previous good character, her own diagnosed PTSD, the realistic prospect of rehabilitation, genuine remorse, and the current pandemic restrictions within prisons.
Former Miss England Olivia Cooke (Image: Olivia Cooke)
The court heard violence flared after Miss Cooke heard Gold make ‘crude comments’ about her sex life, including branding her a ‘slg’ and ‘slt’, during a night out.
Miss Cooke said she tried to ‘laugh it off’ but told Gold, who she had only met once before, that she did not ‘appreciate’ what she had said.
But the verbal abuse continued after Miss Cooke went outside into the pub courtyard and was accused by Gold of trying to start a fight.
Without warning, Gold then twice grabbed her around the throat before striking her with the glass, the court heard.
“It wasn’t a push, it was a grab. She had her wine glass in her other hand. I got her off my neck and pushed her off,” a tearful Miss Cooke told the jury.
Miss Cooke went on to compete in last year’s Miss England final after the attack, but missed out on top spot and a place at Miss World
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“She done it for a second time and the glass was still in her hand. I have obviously got my back up and got in a verbal argument, trying to stick up for myself.
“Out of nowhere she chucked her drink on me and I don’t know what happened but instantly she glassed me twice towards the head.
“It was one to break the glass and the second to cause injury, and obviously it has.”
Miss Cooke, from Barming, Kent, said she was not immediately aware she had been physically hurt and ran after Gold, only to be stopped and told she was bleeding heavily.
Miss Cooke was herself later charged with common assault on Gold in relation to the allegation she had thrown her own glass.
