Hi °C | Lo °C 
A female beauty therapy student accused of stamping on a woman’s head during a street row in west Belfast was granted bail yesterday.
Jamie Louise Ward (25) faces a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent over the alleged attack near a bar in the Andersonstown area on Monday.
Belfast Magistrates Court was told she has refused to identify another woman police want to question about the assault which left the 23-year-old victim in hospital with serious head injuries.
A detective constable said Ward, of no fixed address, had been drinking in the Whitefort Bar earlier that night.
The court heard there were disturbances outside in the street after the pub closed, with a number of witnesses alleging she stamped on the victim’s head.
During interviews, Ward denied the claims and insisted she used her foot to try to split up a fight between her friend and the injured woman, the officer confirmed. The detective, who said she could connect the accused to the charge, revealed police have not been able to identify the third woman.
Opposing bail, she claimed there may be reprisals in the area if the suspect was released.
Cross-examined by defence solicitor Brendan Blaney, the officer confirmed Ward had “put herself at the centre of police inquiries”.
The court was told the accused’s clothing and shoes were being examined. She has also offered to give a DNA sample and take part in an identity parade, Mr Blaney said.
The lawyer insisted: “I would say her conduct post-incident is not the behaviour of someone who would wish to obstruct an inquiry or interfere with witnesses.”
Ward, who has just completed an NVQ in beauty therapy at Belfast Institute, was released on bail of £2,000 to appear again later this month.
District Judge George Conner ordered her to live at her parent’s home, banned her from drinking or going into bars and told her she could not enter the Ladybrook area.
Describing her refusal to give police the other woman’s name as “foolish”, Mr Conner added: “I would like her to reconsider her position.”
