A DRUNKEN mother-of-four who stabbed and nearly killed her teenage son during a family row has been reunited with her family for Christmas, Burnley Crown Court heard.

College student Stephen Lonsdale, 19, had to undergo emergency surgery, collapsed and lost a lot of blood after his mother Donna plunged a kitchen knife into his chest, narrowly missing his heart.

Lonsdale, of Commercial Street, Oswaldtwistle, who has already served the equivalent of a 10-month sentence in custody, admitted wounding.

She sobbed in the dock as a judge gave her a year in prison, suspended for two years, with 12 months supervision and 80 hours unpaid work.

Judge Beverley Lunt told the 36-year-old defendant, whom she said: "You nearly killed your own son. It's stunning."

Police had previously said that Stephen had forgiven his mother for the attack, on August 5. Paul Murphy, prosecuting, told the court Mr Lonsdale went out with his family to various pubs in Oswaldtwistle.

When they returned home at 1am, the defendant got in a dispute with her younger son about him playing loud music and Stephen Lonsdale had to intervene.

The two sons began fighting, the defendant went upstairs to investigate and the victim was said to have pushed his mother against a wall.

Lonsdale then went downstairs, armed herself with a two-inch bladed kitchen knife from a block, went back upstairs and stabbed her son once in the left side of the chest.

Police and an ambulance arrived and found the defendant sitting quite calmly on the sofa still clutching the knife.

Paramedics found the victim upstairs and took him to hospital where he had an operation.