A SEETHING Cradley Heath mother punched a woman so hard in the face she fractured her eye socket after a family dispute on Facebook escalated into violence.

Short-fused fine arts student Louise Blakeway snapped after seeing Nicole Jones in the street after an exchange of abusive messages on Facebook and was sentenced to 100 hours community service at Wolverhampton Crown Court. When sentencing Mrs Blakeway Judge Robin Onions warned of the dangers of people washing their dirty linen on Facebook.

He said: "This is a case where people say things on Facebook they would not say face to face, they feel they have the freedom to air their unwanted views."

He told Blakeway, who studies at Birmingham University, that at 37 she was old enough to know better.

He said: "Unhappily the situation was not helped by members of both families indulging in juvenile correspondence on Facebook and an already inflamed feelings became even more inflamed."

Blakeway, of Harcourt Road, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and she was also placed on supervision for six months, told to pay £500 compensation to Nicole Jones and £150 costs.

The Judge added: "I hope this incident has brought an end to the trouble between these two families, who described Blakeway as a "decent lady who has done something extremely stupid."

Miss Alka Brigue prosecuting said there was animosity between the two families and the offence stemmed from Facebook messages that had been sent between the parties.

She told the court that Blakeway saw the victim in the street and she got out of her car in an "aggressive" manner before punching her twice in the face with her clenched fist.

Miss Jones was taken to hospital but there was no surgical intervention although she did suffer pain and discomfort, said Miss Brigue.

Mr Simon Rippon defending said Blakeway, a mother of two, was a woman who had never been in trouble before with police and she had acted entirely out of character.

He said the people in the case had been "winding each other up through Facebook" adding: "It fuelled the flames of what was already a difficult situation."