Mum walks free from jail after attacking the girl who 'bullied' her child

A furious mum lashed out and assaulted a girl who had been bullying her daughter - grabbing her by the hair and hitting her repeatedly in the face.

But 50-year-old Nicola-Jane Jenks has avoided a conviction, after a judge said she had made a "bad decision" which should not impact on the rest of her life.

The mum, from New Zealand, says she regrets her actions but her daughter had been bullied 'relentlessly' for two years and this was a 'consequence' of it. 

Nicola-Jane Jenks assaulted the 17-year-old girl after she received a phone call from her daughter, who was terrified and upset.

Her child had been bullied for some time and it had a huge effect on the teenager who was suffering panic attacks, losing her hair through stress and not attending school.

On the day of the assault Jenks effectively snapped and fought back in a bid to ease her child's suffering, the court heard. 

Jenks dragged the girl by her ponytail and hit her several times with an open hand.

The teenager suffered bruises to the left cheek and scalp.

At sentencing on Thursday Judge Tony Fitzgerald said Jenks had made a bad decision under circumstances that would have tested any parent.

'You quite rightly feel ashamed for the way you acted,' he said. 'You are 50 years old and you should have handled it a lot better than you did.'

Jenks admitted she regretted her actions but she felt she was forced to take action.

'My daughter was bullied for two years and this is the result of it,' she said. 'It's about bullying in schools and it just has to stop. This is the consequence of it.'