A MUM-of-five refused to leave the dock after a judge activated a suspended sentence imposed after she hit a love rival in the face with the point of her stiletto shoe.

Kathleen Shiel, 29, who has fallen back into using hard drugs, said her latest child would be taken away from her and given up for adoption if she was sent back to prison.

But, after hearing how Shiel had failed to comply with the terms of a suspended sentence imposed for the assault, a judge jailed her for five months.

In an impassioned plea from the dock she told the judge: "I'm not going down: my daughter is going to be taken given away.

"I have engaged with probation for two-and-a-half years. It is the first time I have messed up. I ain't going down. I'm going to lose my daughter."

But after the judge left the court, warning she faced more jail time for contempt if she was there when he returned, she eventually conceded and went with a prison officer.

Shiel, formerly of Kembrey Street, Gorse Hill, was sentenced to eight months suspended for 18 months last July for the drunken attack on a love rival.

She plunged the high heel into the temple of Milena O'Connell, who she said had stolen the father of one of her children, after they left the Lava Lounge.

Once on the order she missed six appointments with probation with their permission but failed to show for three more without an excuse.

The court was told that her offender manager was also concerned about her ability to look after herself, saying her life was in chaos.

Their concerns were illustrated by the fact she did not go for a medical check-up after the birth of her daughter in December, the judge was told.

She also made disclosures that she was back using hard drugs and had been robbing members of the public to get money.

Speaking from the dock, after failing to arrange legal representation, she urged the judge to give her one last chance to save her child.

Since being remanded in custody she said he had undergone medical checks in the hospital wing and was no longer on heroin.

She said she suffered post-natal depression which led to her relapsing into drug use but she was now determined to keep her latest child.

"My little girl is my priority, class A drugs is not a life I want to live," she said.

She said she had got 26 weeks from the girl's birth to get her back or she would almost certainly lose the child.

"If I get remanded in custody today my daughter will get fast tracked for adoption," she said.

Jailing her Judge Peter Blair QC said: "You are in front of the court because you have breached your suspended sentence condition of supervision by the probation service because your chaotic lifestyle has led to you having three unacceptable absences.

"The most recent of which has led to your supervising officer to say that really there is no realistic was of carrying on with your supervision because of your failure to engage in that.

"I have heard what you have said about your intent. I have heard about your intent to fight for custody of your fifth child, who was born in December.

"It is inevitable frankly when you were told that you had to keep out of trouble you were also told you had to keep up with supervision."

He said he would only activate five of the eight months meaning she would be out in April.

Earlier this year, after being brought to court in custody, she pleaded for bail until the next day as she had an important meeting that afternoon at her son's school.

But another warrant had to be issued to get her to attend after she went back on her word and failed to turn up the following morning.