A woman who chased a man barefoot in the street wielding an eight-inch knife over her head has been sent to a young offenders institution.

Summer Jerman, 20, was arrested by police in Welshpool on Thursday, March 21, after they received a number of 999 calls from the public.

The pair, who had been in a "short-lived, volatile and abusive" relationship, had been drinking alcohol and taking crack cocaine before they had a heated argument at Jerman's Sgwar Heulwen flat at around 8.40am where he was heard being offensive to her before she told him that he was a "dead man".

Jerman had admitted affray and possessing a bladed article before magistrates last month.

His Honour Judge Rhys Rowlands, sentencing at Mold Crown Court on Thursday (April 18), said: "The court can’t ignore the background and seriousness of carrying a knife on the streets while drugged up in retribution of bad behaviour a short while earlier."

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Prosecuting barrister Karl Scholtz said a building site worker could see a man backing away from a woman holding a knife.

"He saw the man running and the woman removed her flip flops and ran after the male holding a knife above her head," he said. "On the phone to police, he saw the woman return with a knife and retrieved the flip flops before walking away."

Mr Scholtz said that morning Jerman's neighbour had heard the man, known as 'Kane', shouting offensive words and kicking over bins. Video footage of this was played in court.

"The sound from the video fortified the view that his behaviour was appalling," Mr Scholtz added.

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After Jerman was arrested, she told police that Kane had "bottled" her, adding: "If someone bottles me, I'm going around and getting them with a knife".

The court then heard that Jerman told officers that she had accused Kane of a serious offence and threatened to put it on Facebook before he pinned her against a wall and hit her with a wine bottle.

"He left kicking bins," Mr Scholtz said. "He returned a little while later and threw some form of liquid at her curtains. She went after him taking a knife to scare him but not to hurt him."

Defence barrister Oliver King said drugs were the "main problem in her life" and that she needed a stable place to live.

"The only constant in her life is drugs," Mr King told the judge. "That's what's sad about it all."

He added that a pre-sentence report said Jerman was "on a path of self-destruction" but she "realises only she can step off the path".

Mr King continued: "It was an abusive relationship. The report touches on what Kane did to her. Frankly it's too horrific to repeat.

"Both had taken drugs, and he trashed her flat. When he came back, she acted impulsively and lost control."

The court heard that while Jerman had been on remand at HMP Styal she had been weaned off drugs and had been doing very well.

Judge Rhys Rowlands said that it would be "disastrous" if she went back to live in Welshpool.

"It's terribly depressing that at 11 years old she started taking cannabis," he said.

"Apologists for cannabis say time and time again that young children starting on cannabis doesn’t automatically lead to hard drugs but more often than not it does.

"We need to break the cycle. It looks like very good work at HMP Styal so far.”

He added: "If you’ve been on cocaine for hours on end, you’re not fully in control of a bladed article. It strikes horror into us that time and time again we see people in this court using a blade offensively with potentially horrendous results."

Jerman was sentenced to 28 weeks in a young offender institution for affray and 14 weeks, served concurrently, for possession of a bladed article.

She had previously received a 26-week sentence suspended for 18 months in March 2022 for 10 offences of assaulting emergency workers, and a conditional discharge for two offences of beating an emergency worker in December 2022.

The judge said: "The court has bent over backwards to avoid sending you to custody.

"Armed in the streets with a knife when plainly not in control yourself, you were a real risk to yourself and others."

He added: "You’ve had to deal with a very difficult upbringing and background. You’ve been offered help and support, but it has been made worse by taking illegal drugs, missing appointments, and not taking prescribed medicine previously.

"There are both real concerns over your welfare and the safety of others if you are released into the community this afternoon. There is real work at Styal. There is hope for the future because on your release that will continue in one form or another."