A former London Zoo employee has been found guilty of assaulting a love rival during a Christmas Party fight over a man.

Ex-meerkat keeper Caroline Westlake will be sentenced next month after being found guilty of glassing monkey keeper Kate Sanders.

According to reports the pair had been arguing over llama keeper Adam Davies, who was Westlake’s boyfriend and had previously dated Sanders.

Westminster Magistrates Court heard that the two women got into a fight in the cloakroom when Sanders had tried to apologise for an earlier comment, which ended with a wine glass being smashed in Sanders’ face.

Westlake had denied the charge, claiming that Sanders threw the first punch, and said that she did not know how the wine glass smashed.

Westlake was sacked following the incident and has also taken the charity to an employment tribunal claiming she was dismissed unfairly. The tribunal case was heard earlier this year and has reserved its judgement. Sanders was given a final written warning and banned from attending ZSL events.

London Zoo is run by the Zoological Society of London, a registered charity. A ZSL spokesman said the charity would not comment until the case had concluded.