A SHOPWORKER left scarred for life after a can was thrown when she asked a customer for ID believes the justice system has let her down.

Grandmother-of-three Jennyfer Walker, known as Jill, had blood pouring down her face following the incident at the Co-op store in Willington last week.

The 60-year-old, who needed 12 stitches for a gash on her forehead, is upset the teenager responsible is being dealt with through a restorative justice programme, despite her pleas for it to go to court.

Mrs Walker, who is also a school crossing patrol officer and a long-serving dinner lady in Willington, had asked the 18-year-old man for identification after he attempted to buy an energy drink at about 7.30pm. The teenager presented a college card and when Mrs Walker said she legally needed to see a passport or driving licence, she claims he said: “Are you taking the f****** p***?”

“I told him I wouldn’t serve him if he spoke to me like that,” said Mrs Walker. “He then calmly picked up the can off the counter and threw it. There were lots of people around so I asked for paper towels as there was blood all over me. You shouldn’t have to put up with this when you are simply doing your job.”

Co-op staff called Durham Police and officers attended along with an ambulance, which took Mrs Walker to hospital. She is expected to be off work for at least three weeks. “My eye was so swollen I couldn’t see properly so it wouldn’t be safe for me to help the children cross the road,” she said. “I feel like I’m letting people down.”

She added: “Co-op has been brilliant. I received the best possible care.”

The 18-year-old handed himself in at the scene and was arrested on suspicion of assault. He has since been referred to Checkpoint, a programme which addresses the underlying reasons why offenders commit crimes to prevent them doing it again. If he completes the contract, no further action will be taken, but if he reoffends he will be prosecuted.

Mrs Walker said this was explained to her by police officers but she repeatedly said she wanted the Crown Prosecution Service to take it to court to send out a strong message.

This is echoed on Facebook, where Mrs Walker’s daughter shared photographs of her mother’s injuries and asked: “Where is the justice?”

A spokesperson, from Durham Police said: “Checkpoint is by no means a soft option and we do not take this decision lightly. We would like to reassure victims that the process will be harder to complete than all of the current out of court disposals available, for example, a caution or fixed penalty notice.”

The Northern Echo has been contacted by the mother of the 18-year-old man who said her son was desperately sorry for what happened. She said he claimed not to have thrown the can directly at Mrs Walker but that it had bounced off something else.

“I’m heartbroken my son has done this but we can’t change what has happened and we can’t help what the police decided to do about it,” she said. “We are receiving threats on Facebook and that’s not right.”

A statement from Durham Police described the can as having been thrown “towards the woman causing injury".