[T]WO schoolgirls who bravely intervened as a thug launched a vicious attack on his partner have been honoured.
Pals Emelia Austin and Kacey-leigh Wildgoose were walking past a house on Workington’s Milburn Street last October when they became aware of a brutal domestic attack unfolding inside. Peering through a glass door panel they saw James Allan Butler assaulting Suzannah Lightfoot in a drink and drug-fuelled rage.
Emelia knocked on the door to try and stop the attack, while Kacey-leigh phoned police and relayed what was happening.
Butler, 30, was jailed in January for the assault. Carlisle Crown Court how he kicked and choked Ms Lightfoot, bit her arm and tried in vain to set a dog on her.
The sentencing judge likened Butler’s criminal conduct to that of a “savage” animal, and directed that Emelia, 15, and 16-year-old Kacey-leigh should be commended.
At the crown court today (TUES) the girls, both of Workington, received certificates and cash awards.
During a presentation ceremony, Judge Tony Lancaster suggested the commendations were “richly deserved”.
Emelia said afterwards of their intervention: “It was just instinct really, because if we had left it God knows what would have happened to that woman.”
