Wife swap star Lizzy Bardsley escaped jail on Thursday despite being convicted of four offences of child cruelty. The mother of eight was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, after she was convicted of three charges of wilful assault of a child under 16 and one count of wilful ill-treatment following a trial at Bolton Crown Court last month. Lizzy, 33, of Milnrow Road, Rochdale, was also given a supervision order lasting two years by Judge Hernandez at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday. Passing sentence, Mr Hernandez said: "One of your major faults is your lack of humility. You are unable to stand back and accept that your actions may have been wrong. I hope this gives you the opportunity to reflect on your life, consider where mistakes have been made and seek advice in an appropriate way." He added: "Let me warn you that if you fail to comply with reasonable requests of the Probation Service during the period of this supervision order you will be back before me." Before he passed sentence, Mr Hernandez called Bardsley 'pig headed' and 'lacking in empathy' for initially refusing to take the support offered to her by social services. Lizzy later told her defence counsel that she was willing to get help to manage her behaviour. As she left court after the verdict, the reality TV star was hugged by friends and family. She refused to give any reaction to the ruling.
