Mariam Naeem (20) had set about the child with a hot iron, burning the victim repeatedly, before arming herself with a knife with a five inch blade and a hammer. She then chased the child and carried on raining blows on the victim in the "unprovoked and sustained" assault at a house in Burnley last June, the town's crown court heard.

Naeem, said to have suffered strong mood swings at the time and to have had to seek medical treatment over a "personal problem" shortly before she struck, hospitalised the victim for 10 days.

The child, whose skin was said to have been bubbling and flaking off from severe burns to the arms, body and face, also suffered a fractured skull, brain damage and had hammer wounds to her head and knife wounds.
The victim was taken to Manchester Children's Hospital, where she was treated by a team of neurosurgeons, paediatricians and plastic surgeons.

The hearing was told how the defendant apparently turned on the victim for nothing. Her vicious outburst came eight months after she attacked her partner, scratching his car with a knife and sinking her teeth into him. She had admitted assault by beating.

Naeem, of New Hall Street, Burnley, had originally denied causing grievous bodily harm to the child with intent. She changed her plea to guilty on the day of trial, meaning the victim was spared the ordeal of giving evidence. The hearing was told how the child did not want to go to court and see the defendant. The child, who had had to keep her arms covered because of her injuries, told police she felt family and friends had rallied round to give support.

Naeem, who has been on remand, was kept in custody and will be sentenced by Judge Jonathan Gibson on May 14th.

The judge, who ordered pre-sentence and psychiatric reports on the defendant, will have to decide whether or not she is dangerous. Judge Gibson, who said the one aspect of the case that gave him some concern about Naeem's state of mind at the time was her hospital visit, told her he would be sending her to prison for a maximum of seven and a half years.

Naeem appeared before Burnley Magistrates' Court to be sentenced in October 2008, after causing £800 damage to her partner's car and biting him.

At that time, the court heard she was in a relationship with an older, divorced man and her family did not approve. She had wanted to marry him but could not win their permission.

The Bench was told Naeem went to meet the victim and later went to his house. The victim let her in, she was aggressive, attacked him and damaged his car. Naeem, who had no previous convictions at the time, had been given 12 months' supervision, with 40 hours' unpaid work and was later accused of flouting the order.