Stabbed girl, 17, scarred from neck to navel

Zoe Mitchell, 17, and Nicola Tweed, 38, had torn huge chunks of hair from each other's heads when an argument turned physical at a party.

Friends separated them, but they had a second confrontation, and this time Tweed plunged a large kitchen knife into the teenager's chest.

Ms Mitchell had to undergo life-saving surgery and will have a permanent scar running the length of her torso.

Tweed, who is seven months' pregnant, admitted the attack and was remanded in custody to await sentence next month. She faces having the baby in jail because the judge told her a prison term "of some length" was extremely likely.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard yesterday that the attack happened on 13 December, 2008, at North Leith Mill, Edinburgh.

Tweed and Ms Mitchell, who knew each other but were not friends, were at a party in a flat and had been drinking heavily.

Advocate-depute Leanne Cross told the court: "Around 2am, an argument broke out between them. This turned into a physical fight.

"(Ms Mitchell] describes herself as 'getting the better of' the accused, but the pair then separated. Others present saw that both had huge chunks of hair missing from their heads."

Tweed, who was living in Leith at the time, was asked to leave and went upstairs to a friend's flat. Ms Mitchell was unhappy and went to confront Tweed. She banged on the door and shouted for Tweed to come out.

The door opened, and Tweed lunged at Ms Mitchell with a large kitchen knife, stabbing her just below the left breast. She went back into the flat, and left by a fire escape.

A neighbour heard Ms Mitchell's screams and found her lying on the ground, struggling to breathe.

Miss Cross told the court: "While in hospital, she went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated before being operated on by a surgeon who had been called in to assist with her treatment.

"During surgery, her breast bone was opened… and a large amount of blood was found. There was a wound to her heart caused by the knife, which was closed using two sutures, and her chest was then closed. Doctors are of the opinion that her wound was severe and without prompt medical intervention, she would most certainly have died.

"As a result of the attack and the subsequent operation, she has been left with a large scar which stretches from her neck to her navel. She is now more cautious when she goes out and tends to spend time socialising with her family rather than go out with friends. She said she gets a fright if someone approaches her from behind."

Tweed, who has since moved to Wishaw, Lanarkshire, admitted assaulting Ms Mitchell to the danger of her life.

Her counsel, Frank Gallagher, asked for bail to be continued while sentencing reports were prepared, and said she was due to have her baby in April.

But the judge, Kenneth Maciver, said Tweed would be remanded in custody.

He told her: "A custodial sentence of some length is extremely likely to be imposed… the victim of this assault has come close to death."

He said he was confident the prison authorities would be able to deal with any matter regarding Tweed's pregnancy.