A MOTHER has been cleared of trying to stab her former brother-in-law after a fall-out.

Burnley Crown Court had heard claims Victoria Foley, 29, struck out outside a pub, with a six-inch kitchen knife which she was alleged to have hidden down her skirt.

Foley, of Middlesex Avenue, Burnley, was found not guilty of attempted unlawful wounding after a two-day trial. She denied the allegation and was discharged by judge Raymond Bennett.

Arthur Stuttard, prosecuting, alleged the defendant had been so wound up over a previous incident against her father that she armed herself in case she saw her former husband Kevin and his two brothers.

He claimed she took the law into her own hands and tried to stab John Foley, outside the Bricklayers Arms, Burnley.

Foley told the jury her relationship with her then husband had turned violent. She had been good friends with John Foley during her marriage but when she decided to leave home Kevin attacked her, took their daughter Ebony and the police had to get her back.

She said Mr Foley was laughing at her and she went to hit him.