THE head chef at a Ribble Valley hotel and restaurant flew into a jealous rage after seeing her boyfriend sitting in a car with another woman, a court heard.

Blackburn magistrates were told Leoni McCormick tried to drag Carolyn Fisher from her car in Clitheroe town centre, hit her in the face and kicked her on the nose.

McCormick, 30, of Mission Room Cottage, Slaidburn, pleaded guilty to assaulting Miss Fisher.

She was ordered to complete a six month community rehabilitation order and pay £150 compensation and £50 costs.

McCormick, who works at the Hark to Bounty, Slaidburn, has two previous convictions for assault in 1995 and 1998.

The court heard that Miss Fisher also suffered a cigarette burn to her thigh. The prosecution said the cigarette had been "stubbed" on Miss Fisher's leg but Nigel Holden, defending, said that allegation had always been denied.

Tom Snape, prosecuting, said Miss Fisher had told police how she had previously known a man called Lee when she had worked with him a few years earlier. He was going out with McCormick, whom she had also met. Miss Fisher said she had lost contact with Lee until early in May when she was surprised to receive a phone call from him.

She said there was another phone call and then a third one on the night of the incident, when he said he was in Clitheroe town centre.

Miss Fisher said she was in her car and agreed to meet him.

She said they had been sitting in her car in King Street talking for about 20 minutes when Lee suddenly shouted: "That's Leoni, lock your door."

In a statement to police, Miss Fisher said a VW Polo had pulled up alongside her car and, as McCormick flung her door open, it smashed into her car. She said Leoni looked "extremely angry" as she rushed over.

She opened the driver's door of Miss Fisher's car and grabbed her by her hair.

"She was screaming at me, calling me a bitch and a slapper and using the F word a lot," said Miss Fisher.

The court was told that McCormick then used both hands to grab Miss Fisher's hair and managed to partially drag her out of the car. She kicked her on the nose and then started striking her about the face.

"During all this time Lee was shouting for her to leave me alone and for me to try and drive off," said Miss Fisher.

"I was shouting 'Nothing has happened' but she wasn't listening. She said the next time would be worse and she didn't care if she got sent down.

"She gave my hair one final turn and then shouted for Lee to get out of the car."

As well as the burn on her thigh, Miss Fisher had a dent in the bridge of her nose, a lot of pain around her head and scalp and significant hair loss. She had a sore jaw and the roof of her mouth was bleeding.

Mr Holden said McCormick had suspected there was something going on and had not fully accepted her boyfriend's assurances.

"When she saw them in the car together, all her worst fears came to fruition," said Mr Holden.

"They had been in a relationship for four years, living together, and she had noticed phone calls and furtive behaviour by her boyfriend, which was all denied.

"When she was confronted by this, she is ashamed to say that she lost it."

A spokesman for the Hark to Bounty, Slaidburn, said the incident was part of McCormick's private life and not something they would wish to comment on.