A BLOOD soaked pubgoer was left scarred for life after being glassed by an 'aggressive' woman in a Gourock bar, a trial at Greenock Sheriff Court has heard.
The alleged victim - who says she was targeted by accused Lynda Robertson at Cleats on Kempock Street - told a jury how she went into 'complete shock'.
Robertson, 37, is charged on indictment with assaulting the woman - who was aged 19 at the time of the alleged incident - to severe injury and permanent disfigurement.
Giving evidence on the first day of the trial, the woman, now aged 21, told the court that her confidence had been 'rocked' as a result of the alleged unprovoked violence.
She said: "She [Robertson] was talking to me, putting her finger in my face - it was not the kind of behaviour you would expect in a pub or anywhere.
"Before I got a chance to talk to bartenders I got turned around and a glass made contact with my face.
"I went into complete shock; I have never been hit before by anybody.
"I felt warmth on my face and my eyes started to sting.
"My face was completely covered in blood and it was in my mouth."
The woman said Robertson appeared 'very angry and hostile' shortly before closing time, and claimed she saw her running for the exit immediately after the incident.
The court was shown an image of the alleged victim's wound, above her left eyebrow, which was glued by a doctor at Inverclyde Royal Hospital.
She said: "It is something that is definitely going to affect me.
"It rocks your confidence. I was 19 when it happened.
"It prevented me from socialising for a time. I would go into a panic attack if I was out somewhere and heard glass smashing.
"It definitely affected me in the long run."
Robertson - who is accused of attacking the woman on the night of October 3, 2021 as well as assaulting a man - has lodged a special defence of incrimination, claiming that she did not carry out the second assault.
Her solicitor, David Nicholson, suggested that the alleged victim and his client had become involved in a melee and that fingers were pointed and aspersions cast, with both sides exchanging words.
The lawyer asked if the woman, whom the court heard had previously worked as a glass collector at the bar, had seen Roberston holding a glass before the incident.
The witness replied: "It happened so quickly that I only realised that I had been glassed when I heard the glass shattering.
"It was a blur.
"I didn't see a glass in her hand."
The woman added: "I doubt someone's fist, unless they had some serious jewellery on, could make such a gash."
The complainer's former partner also gave evidence, which Robertson's lawyer argued was 'flavoured by his consumption of alcohol'.
The man admitted he did not see a glass in Robertson's hand but told the court he could 'make a reasonable assumption' that the accused struck the alleged victim with a tumbler.
He said: "I don't think a fist would do that much damage.
"I was worried for [the complainer's] health, it could've been a lot worse.
"I thought it was a really serious injury.
"We were both in shock, you don't expect to be out one night and then your mate gets glassed and there's blood everywhere.
"Her head was profusely bleeding."
The trial, before Sheriff Sheena Fraser, continues.
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