A beauty queen has received a suspended jail term for attacking a woman with a red stiletto outside a hunt ball - less than a week after appearing in the Miss Great Britain final.

Taylor Gidley, then aged 21, had progressed to the national event after being crowned Miss Lancashire in a red-carpet ceremony.

At the time, her proud mother said she had encouraged girls and women ‘to be more confident, no matter who they are or what background they are from’.

But, in a display of less-edifying behaviour, a court heard she erupted into violence while waiting for a taxi following the Holcombe Harriers Hunt Ball at Bilsborrow, near Preston, on October 24, 2024.

On Monday, Gidley, now 24, appeared at Preston Crown Court where she received a nine-month suspended prison term plus 120 hours of community service after admitting unlawful wounding.

In a statement, her victim Ashleigh Saunders, 38, said: ‘I now have a scar on my face. I feel it is very noticeable and I am always self-conscious.

‘I feel anxious when I go out. It is not a normal thing to be hit in the face with a heel and it has taken a long time to process it.

‘I don't like to be around drunk people - it makes me question whether that is what they are all like.’

The court heard Gidley, who works for an equine business, set upon Ms Saunders in the taxi queue.

One witness described Gidley, wearing a red dress, screaming at her about approaching 'Pete' about a cab.

Prosecutor Mia Monahan said there was a shortage of taxis outside the rural venue and the woman had asked various people if they could share, including the man, who was known to Gidley.

Gidley used her right shoe to hit Ms Saunders in the face, sending her falling to the floor in a daze – and the court heard she continued to hit her while she was on the ground.

Ms Saunders later told a friend she had pain in her head and had been sick.

The following morning, she woke to find a 2cm jagged cut to her cheek and went to hospital.

Medical staff said her injury was consistent with having been struck with a small object, the court heard.

Gidley was identified by social media and was arrested the same day. She was released under investigation but arrested again on December 15 that year, when her red dress and stilettos were found at her home.

She told officers she was acting in self-defence and did not intend to cause an injury – but later pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding against Ms Saunders, which has a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

Throughout the court hearing, Gidley sobbed in the dock, dressed in a white shirt and brown trousers.

Joe Allman, defending, presented references which described Gidley as 'kind, caring, empathetic and considerate person' – with the incident being ‘entirely out of character’.

He said she has a business studies degree and had found ‘her vocation’ working with horses.

Sentencing, judge Recorder Ben Lawrence said: ‘It seems like you were angered by her asking a male you knew whether they could share a taxi.

‘Whatever the cause of your anger it was wholly unjustified, which I am assured you agree with and I have no doubt it was influenced by your consumption of alcohol.

‘You had in your hand one of your stiletto heels and you hit her in her cheek with that stiletto. She fell to the floor in a daze or unconscious and her friend said you continued to hit her.’

But the judge accepted the incident was out of character and Gidley has not committed any offences before or since.

Gidley was crowned as Miss Lancashire on Friday, June 21, 2024, in a red carpet ceremony at a spa hotel in Burnley and had gone on to compete in the Miss GB finals on October 18, but lost out to Miss GB Edinburgh Ava Morgan.

At the time of winning the Miss Lancashire title, Gidley’s mum, Leah Gidley, said: ‘I am so proud of Taylor. She entered the pageant initially for a bit of fun and to see what it was all about. But she realised she could encourage other girls and women to be more confident, no matter who they are or what background they are from.’