A mother and daughter have been locked up for a total of 16 years for a vicious knife attack on a guest at their home.

Victim Matthew Howard was stabbed 14 times in the back, spine and chest in the attack at the house, in Elizabeth Street, Accrington.

Margaret Gilheaney, 36, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent occasioning grievous bodily harm and another charge of violent disorder.

Her daughter Isabel Gilheaney, 19, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent.

Margaret’s Gilheaney’s son, Joseph Gilheaney, also 19, was also locked up for eight years for his part in a separate incident at the house, which left a teenager disfigured after he was attacked with a broken bottle in August 2010.

In the second of the two incidents, Mr Howard, 28, was set upon by Margaret and Isabel Gilheaney after he was involved in a fight with Isabel’s boyfriend, Martin Maughan, 19.

Prosecutor Sarah Booth told the court that Mr Howard was repeatedly stabbed as he pinned Maughan to the sofa.

Maughan then grabbed the knife and stabbed Mr Howard as he lay helpless on the floor begging for mercy, Ms Booth added.

Mr Howard – a father-of-three – believed he was going to die in the attack, she said.

The victim suffered injuries to his back, chest, arms and spine as well as nerve damage and a collapsed lung during the attack.

Ms Booth said he now suffers from anxiety and depression and missed the birth of his third child while in hospital recovering from his injuries.

After the attack he was dragged into an alleyway before Margaret Gilheaney called an ambulance.

In the first incident, which had happened six months earlier, Joseph Gilheaney had attacked a guest at a party at the house.

Ms Booth said that Joseph had hit Jordan Daly repeatedly on the head with a broken bottle after the pair had started fighting.

Mr Daly, who was celebrating his 18th birthday, was knocked unconscious after he fell to the floor screaming for help, Ms Booth said.

She added that a witness claimed to have seen a number of people piling on top of Mr Daly, including David Cammack, 28, of St James Road, Accrington, who was jailed for 12 months for his part in the incident after he admitted violent disorder.

Joseph Gilheaney, of Lydia Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent.

He also admitted a charge of affray and possession of a bladed weapon in relation to another incident in which he chased two occupants of an Accrington hostel on December 23, 2010.

Margaret Gilheaney, of Elizabeth Street was jailed for 10 years, and Isabel Gilheaney, of the same address Street, was sentenced to six years in a young offenders institute.

Maughan, of Edleston Street, Accrington, was sentenced to three years and four months at a young offenders institute after pleading guilty to wounding.

Alan Walstenholme, defending, said Margaret Gilheaney, who has no previous offences, was truly remorseful and wished to apologise to Mr Howard.

He said throughout her adult life she had consumed alcohol and drugs.

Phillip Holden, defending Isabel Gilheaney, said his client, who was 17 at the time, had not been the instigator of violence and had acted to protect her boyfriend, Maughan.

Mark Stuart, for Maughan, said Mr Howard had struck the first blow and the defendant had lost his temper but had not intended to cause serious harm.

Defending Joseph Gilheaney, Martin Hackett said the attack on Mr Daly had begun as a fight between the two men.

Judge Jonathan Gibson, sentencing, said Joseph Gilheany – who has 35 previous convictions – was a dangerous offender and there was a high risk he could offend again.

David Preston, representing Cammack, said had not used violence and was not armed with a weapon.

He added that alcohol and other illicit substances had contributed to his behaviour.