A FEMALE thug who almost blinded a woman by smashing a glass in her face was snared after her victim used Facebook to track her down.

Ashleigh Holliman, 22, of Fuller Way, Croxley Green, launched a drunken and unprovoked nightclub assault on Jennifer Wilson, 20, cutting her half an inch below her left eye.Holliman fled the scene without being identified, because bouncers failed to detain her. Police investigating the attack said CCTV footage was unclear and evidence had been cleared away by nightclub staff.

But Ms Wilson recognised one of Holliman's pals on the social networking site and spent two days trawling through 200 'friends' until she found her attacker.

Holliman was arrested at work and picked out by the victim at an identity parade.

At St Albans Crown Court on November 10, the hairdresser admitted actual bodily harm and was sentenced to 120 hours' community service.

Ms Wilson, from Oxhey, near Watford, has been left with an inch-long scar on her face. Last week she said she was delighted to have caught the thug but said police should have done more. "This girl had just been staring at me all night long. Then all of a sudden I was dancing with friends and she slammed the glass into my face.

"I honestly thought I was going to lose my eye. Blood was squirting out of the hole in my face; I was absolutely terrified. She managed to escape but I recognised one of her friends and decided to track her down because I didn't deserve what she did to me.

"When I finally found her I could not believe it. I saw her face smiling in the pictures like butter wouldn't melt, and felt sick inside. This girl could have blinded me.

"Police said the CCTV was blurry and if I hadn't found her on Facebook she might never have been caught. I'm just a receptionist in a tanning salon but I ended up doing the detective work for them. Maybe I'm in the wrong job."

The attack happened on March 21 in the Walkabout bar in Watford. Ms Wilson was rushed to hospital, where doctors spent two hours treating the wound to avoid scarring.

A police spokesman said officers visited Ms Wilson at her request the following morning. Prior to that she had started enquiries of her own and tracked the offender down, later passing the information to officers.

Officers also conducted other investigations, including viewing CCTV and interviewing witnesses.