A meerkat expert who smashed a fellow London Zoo keeper and love-rival in the face with a wine glass has been punished by magistrates in the UK.

Caroline Westlake, 30, attacked monkey handler Kate Sanders in a row over a llama-keeper at a Christmas party.

The defendant, who was sacked after the incident and is appealing against her assault conviction, wept in the dock as she heard her fate.

She was ordered to pay £800 (around €1,070) compensation to Miss Sanders following the assault during a jealous feud over Adam Davies who dated both women.

She was also sentenced to a 12-month community order - carrying out 80 hours of unpaid work over a year - and ordered to pay £200 (around €270) prosecution costs.

At the time of the attack, Westlake had been seeing Mr Davies for a year. He had previously had a five-year relationship with Miss Sanders.

Miss Sanders was taken to hospital and had to have a total of five stitches following the assault, Westminster magistrates were told.

In an impact statement, she said she has been left with an ugly scar on her cheek "which will be with me for the rest of my life".

She said she suffers from nightmares and stress and is afraid to leave her home "for fear of running into Caroline or her friends".

"I think about it every single day at work and feel a black mark has been placed against me that may affect my further promotion," she added.

Westlake alleged Miss Sanders punched her in the face first and held her over a balcony while spitting in her face.

The defendant also claimed she overheard Miss Sanders insulting her looks earlier in the evening on 8 December last year.

Westlake said she did not remember hitting her colleague with the glass, but accepted she may have reacted with it in her hand due to her dyspraxia and ADHD.

Judge Jeremy Coleman described Miss Sanders' injury as "nasty" and told the defendant she was fortunate not to have been convicted of a more serious charge.