Woman jailed after stabbing boyfriend during romantic Midland weekend away Niamh Gallagher was treating her then-boyfriend to a birthday weekend away at Quarry Walk Lodges in Freehay near Cheadle when she turned violent Niamh Gallagher burst into tears in court A young woman was left in tears as she received a sentence of more than three years for stabbing her boyfriend during a romantic break in North Staffordshire. Niamh Gallagher had organised a birthday weekend away at Quarry Walk Lodges in Freehay in the Staffordshire Moorlands for her then-partner, but the trip took a violent turn. ‌ The then 19 year old, under the influence of cocaine, seized two knives from the kitchen and stabbed her boyfriend's leg. She also inflicted puncture wounds to his head with a set of car keys during the attack in January 2023. ‌ Read more: Outrageous fly-tipping dumped in West Midlands Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court was told that the violence occurred after Gallagher had been woken by her boyfriend, who had discovered she was cheating on him, reports Stoke on Trent Live. Despite claiming she had almost no memory of the incident and that she suffered from PTSD due to a past relationship marred by domestic violence, Gallagher, now 21, has been imprisoned for three years and five months. Article continues below Prosecutor Robert Holt reported: "To celebrate the complainant's birthday they went to a campsite. They walked the dog and drank alcohol and took cocaine, and had shots of Sourz and Desperados. The complainant says as he was talking to the defendant she started to make less sense. He told her and it upset her." "She was going to go for a walk but because of the time, he persuaded her not to and he took the dog for another walk whilst she remained at the campsite. On his return, the defendant told him he hadn't been gone for long enough, and she went outside and was on the phone to someone. "When she was challenged about this, she said she hadn't been on the phone to anyone. Whilst she was asleep, the complainant checked her phone and thought she was cheating on him. He woke her and she denied it, there was an argument and she went into the kitchen area and got two knives, she ran at the complainant and lunged at him, causing him to be injured. ‌ "The complainant grabbed her wrists and made efforts to disarm her. It was at this point he realised he'd been stabbed in the leg area because his jogging bottoms were wet and covered in blood. The defendant got off the bed, grabbed her car keys and hit him in the head. When he went to hospital he found three puncture wounds to his head had been sustained whilst in the cabin. "He pushed her back and she fell and hit her head. He called the ambulance and police, and the defendant was found in the cabin lying on the bottom bunk under the covers when she was arrested. She answered 'no comment' to questions during the interview." Gallagher, from Wetherby, Leeds, has admitted to the charge of wounding with intent. She stated: "I accept I took two knives and stabbed him. I felt threatened when he woke me up and confronted me about cheating. This was aggressive, and I believed his actions would cause serious harm. I accept this isn't seen as self defence." ‌ Defence barrister Brigit Baillie offered an explanation for her client's reaction: "Reliving trauma can make people react as if they were at risk of harm by fight, flight or freeze. It's not an excuse for her behaviour but it's an explanation of why she reacted in the way she did." She further commented on Gallagher's progress: "She has shown sincere remorse, she is in work, she has taken huge steps to address her offending behaviour, and she accepts responsibility for what she put the complainant and his family through. She has shown insights to her thinking and behaviour, she's a different woman to the young person she was two years and three months ago." Meanwhile, Jailing Gallagher, District Judge Grego remarked: "You have a background of a previous abusive relationship which left you with a heightened response to danger, or what you perceive to be danger where in many cases, none exists. You moved from the lower bunk where you'd been sleeping. He was four or five steps away from you heading towards the door, you went the opposite way towards the kitchen, you grabbed two knives and lunged towards him. ‌ "The slice injury is all around the base of his thumb which was definitely an injury from you. He didn't know at this point he'd been stabbed in the leg, he realised the tracksuit bottoms were wet and more and more blood had soaked into the material. "The injury to his thigh was a 6cm laceration. He was very fortunate - frankly so are you - that no artery was cut in that stabbing. Had that been the case it's highly unlikely he would've survived this attack. "You used keys to puncture his head, you bit him on the arm. Your attack on him in a domestically abusive situation has clearly had a psychological impact on him. He describes suicidal thoughts and he describes flashbacks of that night. Article continues below "I take into account your diagnosis of PTSD. This was physical abuse by you in an emotionally and sometimes physically abusive relationship. The offending was perpetrated whilst under the influence of drugs and alcohol. "It's clear at the start of this relationship you were a vulnerable young woman, and your parents were trying as hard as they could to improve your situation and help you, but at that time you were simply not for changing. You have never been in trouble before, you've shown genuine remorse for a lack of control, and you've taken steps to address your drug misuse. "Your age coupled with your behaviour shows a lack of maturity, but I can't look past the fact you did what you did. It's simply inconceivable that if you thrust a knife into someone's body that the sentence would be anything other than a custodial sentence."