A WHITEHAVEN woman who assaulted a police officer and verbally abused a neighbour after drinking Champagne was upset about the death of her boxing coach.

Charlotte Jones, 39, wept as she sat in the dock at Carlisle Crown Court, where a judge accepted that she was not thinking rationally after self-medicating with alcohol while she was “in the depths of a mental health crisis.”

The defendant, of Valley View Road, Whitehaven, admitted three charges: using threatening behaviour, resisting arrest and assaulting an emergency worker, a police officer.

Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson outlined the facts.

He described how the offending arose during two incidents, one on April 9 and another on April 22, both being linked to Jones verbally abusing her neighbours.

On the first occasion, police were called just before 6pm.

“She was being verbally abusive towards her neighbours and issuing various threats,” said Mr Rogerson. When police arrived, Jones had gone into her house, where the officers found her on the first floor, clearly intoxicated.

She initially seemed calm and reasonable, shouting that she was “under arrest.”

But when an officer attempted to detain her, she began flailing her arms, resisting so much that self-inflicted wounds on her arm began to bleed. She then insulted the female officer who was trying to arrest her, attempting to elbow her.

“The police constable had to take evasive action,” said Mr Rogerson. She told the officer: “By the time I’ve finished with you’ll be black and blue. I’ll mess up your face.”

When Jones was later shown the police body-worn footage of how she had behaved, she apologised, accepting that the officer did not deserve to be treated in that way, “She said she’d had a lot to drink and offered an apology,” said the prosecutor.

The second incident happened 13 days later.

The victim – one of the defendant’s neighbours – called the police to report that she was walking along the street when she was aggressively shouted at by Jones for no apparent reason.

Jones was insulting and threatening her.

The defendant told the woman: “I’ll kill you; I’ll rip your head off.” The woman said she had done nothing to provoke such treatment. “She had simply been walking along the street where they live,” said Mr Rogerson.

When later confronted by the police, Jones told the officer: “Yes. That’s me; I’m guilty.”

When asked why she had treated a woman she did not know so badly, Jones said she drank two bottles of Champagne it this affected her behaviour.

“She said that during the first incident, she was affected by the death of her boxing coach,” added Mr Rogerson.

Kim Whittlestone, defending, said Jones had shown clear remorse and was now engaging with a safeguarding team. “She has complex mental health needs,” said the barrister. “The issue in these offences has been alcohol.

“But she has been alcohol free since the last offence.”

Judge Michael Fanning told Jones that her issue was more “deep-seated” than just alcohol. “You use alcohol to medicate yourself when things get on top of you, as they have done for a couple of years,” he told her.

“But you know that when you drink, you misbehave. You are not necessarily thinking rationally when you are in the depths of the mental health crisis you undoubtedly find yourself in.

“I have no doubt that you have a disorder; and I have no doubt that it is made worse when you have alcohol. The two are interlinked. Your behaviour means you can’t exercise judgement; you don’t make logical and rational decisions.

“You don’t think about consequences.”

However, Jones was keen to work to solve her issues, said the judge, remarking that the defendant’s neighbours should not have to put up with such behaviour.

Judge Fanning imposed a one-year community order. It incudes 15 rehabilitation activity days.” From the dock of the court, Jones said: “I need to stay off the drink.

"I just want to be happy and remain abstinent because I know once I start drinking everything turns to chaos and spirals out of control.”