A jealous student threw boiling water over a pal - after accusing her of sleeping with her boyfriend.

Church-going Edith Wiredu, 21, hurled the scalding liquid at Terena Omoetuk during a row at a flat in Parham Close, Canterbury.

Traumatised Terena, 20, collapsed as she relived the ordeal at Canterbury Crown Court - slumping backwards and falling out of the witness box.

As a police officer and witness support staff ran to her aid, her head struck the judge's wooden bench.

After a 90-minute break, the student - who is studying graphic design at Canterbury Christ Church University -continued giving her evidence despite complaining of a headache.

She told how Wiredu had confronted her about allegations she had been cheating with her boyfriend.

Wiredu, who was also studying in Canterbury, pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

But a jury found her guilty – and now the mother of a three-year-old faces "years" in jail.

Terena told how she and fellow students had met at the students' digs on the campus and had been planning to attend a meeting of the University's Afro-Caribbean Society.

But instead, they went to the nearby Asda store while Terena dropped a friend at Canterbury railway station.

She said: "I then received a text message from Edith asking for me to come back to the flat. After arriving, Edith said she wanted to talk to me. When I got there, everyone there was silent."

It was then that Wiredu confronted her friend about having sex with her boyfriend Tinashe.

"edith appeared with a bowl of hot liquid and threw it at me. it went over my face and chest…” – victim terena omoetuk

"I said 'no'. I was shocked and confused," Terena said. "She asked me again and I denied it again. She then started getting angry and said that I had to start telling her the truth because he had told her. But I denied it again.

"She then left and went into the living room. I followed her and as I walked in, Edith appeared with a bowl of hot liquid and threw it at me. It went over my face and chest."

She then claimed that as she fell to the floor, Wiredu grabbed her hair and tried to stamp on her head.

Terena was taken to hospital and treated for her burn wounds, which have left her with a scar on her chest.

Wiredu claimed friends had alleged her boyfriend – with whom she had just split – had been sleeping with Terena.

After the showdown on November 23 last year, she returned to the kitchen - where she had boiled water to prepare a chicken for dinner.

She claimed she picked up the plastic bowl and was knocked by others – and the water accidentally spilled over her love rival. The jury rejected her account.

Edith Wiredu will be sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court

Wiredu will be sentenced next month after the judge Recorder Edward Connell told her: "You should be under no illusions whatsoever that you will receive anything other than an immediate prison sentence.

"This was a wicked offence and you should count it very lucky the injuries weren’t more serious, but your sentence will be measured in years."

Wiredu's friend Dr Robert Cann – a GP and assistant pastor at a church in East Ham, London - wrote a letter of support.

He said: "In the short time I have known her there has been a remarkable change in her life, character and attitude. She is gradually developing into a wonderful young lady.

"I do not see her as someone who would deliberately go out of her way to inflict harm or injury on another."

She was given bail for a month while a pre-sentence probation report is prepared.