A WOMAN stabbed a pal in the chest after accusing him of sleeping with his friend's ex-girlfriend.

Furious Kalesha Hemsley plunged the five-inch bladed knife into Matthew Hope as she called him a "scumbag".

But Bolton Crown Court heard how, although the weapon nicked his lung and heart, he miraculously did not need surgery and was discharged from hospital after receiving stitches and being kept in for observation.

Hemsley, a 20-year-old mum-of-one, wailed and collapsed in the dock as Recorder Andrew Long jailed her for two years.

"I would be failing in my duty if I did not pass an immediate custodial sentence," he told her.

Alexandra Sutton, prosecuting, told how Mr Hope and Hemsley had been friends for several years when, on September 18, 2020, he and several others were at her flat enjoying drinks and listening to music.

"It seems that the defendant was intoxicated and being rude to a young lady," said Miss Sutton.

"Matthew Hope told the defendant that she was being disrespectful."

She added that Mr Hope and the woman, who had previously been in a relationship with another friend, Jack Davies, left Hemsley's home together.

The following evening Hemsley repeatedly called Mr Hope asking him to come back to her flat.

"She said she wanted to speak about something important but he didn't take up the offer and instead went to bed," said Miss Sutton.

At 6am the next day Mr Hope used Snapchat to arrange a meeting a with a friend at Rattan Direct in Farnworth, where they would go smoking.

But the friend did not turn up and instead, at 6.30am, drunken Hemsley arrived, accompanied by two men, one of whom was Jack Davies.

With the two men behind her Hemsley confronted Mr Hope, telling him, "You don't sleep with your mate's ex, you scumbag".

"She pulled a knife from her coat pocket and stabbed Matthew Hope to the left chest area," said Miss Sutton.

"He's seen the knife go in an out of his chest but at that stage didn't feel any pain.

"He was in shock and walked off. It wasn't until he was back at his own flat that he realised how serious the injury was."

Large amounts of blood were spurting out and he was feeling faint as an ambulance arrived.

In a victim statement Mr Hope said he never expected Hemsley to behave in that way.

When arrested Hemsley, of The Pungle, Westhoughton, initially denied stabbing Mr Hope but then pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and possessing a knife.

Mark Friend, defending, stressed that, at the time she had issues with alcohol but has not offended since.

"This is a defendant who, to a certain extent, behaved out of character on this date and it can nevertheless be regarded, albeit and serious one, as an aberration on an otherwise responsible life," he said.

Jailing Hemsley, Recorder Long told her: "For no good reason and in cold blood, you produced a knife and stabbed him [Mr Hope] in the chest.

"By the grace of God you didn't kill him and it is quite good fortune that he suffered only the injury he did. Another half an inch and, well, you know what would have happened."