WOMAN DRINKING LAMBRINI HURLED ABUSE AT THE ELDERLY AND CHILDREN IN TOWN BUS STATION
A drunk woman arrested after hurling abuse at members of the public claimed that the unhealthy conditions of her home had forced her to drink.Ita Geraldine Flaherty was caught swearing at the elderly and children as she swigged from a bottle of Lambrini in a car park and bus station.
Her drunken antics also put her in breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) banning her from drinking alcohol in public.
The Huddersfield court heard that Flaherty, of Aire Street, pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly in public and two charges of breaching her CBO.
Magistrates were told that police were called to an incident involving Flaherty at Bethel Street car park in Brighouse town centre on April 19.
Vanessa Jones, prosecuting, told magistrates: “They received calls from members of the public saying that a drunk female was being abusive towards passers-by.
“Quite a crowd had gathered and Miss Flaherty was head to shout at one lady: ‘You fat cow’.
“Some children also said that she had been swearing at them and when the officers asked her for her name she told them to **** off.” She was found with an open bottle of Lambrini which she was drinking from and being abusive towards other people in the bus station.
The 51-year-old smelt strongly of drink and there was a bottle of empty Lambrini beside her feet, the Huddersfield court heard.
As the officers tried to engage with her she continued to be abusive and threatened to spit at them before spitting towards the floor.
Magistrates heard details of another incident on March 23 at Halifax Bus Station when a customer service officer was alerted to her drunken behaviour.
Mrs Jones said: “She was found with an open bottle of Lambrini which she was drinking from and being abusive towards other people in the bus station.
“She was asked to leave and then went outside, swearing and shouting in front of elderly people, children and families before coming back in and getting on a bus to Brighouse.” Magistrates were told that Flaherty was prohibited from having an open container of alcohol in public place in Calderdale and banned her from acting in an anti-social manner and causing harassment, alarm or distress in the area and while using public transport.
Her solicitor Sonia Kidd said that her client clearly needed help within the community: “The reason she consumes a bottle a day is because of her concerns in relation to what she’s taking in at her home.
She describes her surrounding circumstances as damp and I do believe she needs assistance.” Magistrates made a curfew order, meaning that she must remain indoors between noon and 10pm.
