Shirebrook driver spat and kicked at cops who found her slumped and smelling of cannabis

Julie Smith, aged 59, was arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a vehicle while unfit in Church Warsop on February 13, said Lucy Woodcock, prosecuting.

She spat at one officer during her arrest and kicked another officer in the leg at the police station while giving a blood sample before withdrawing her consent to the procedure.

Vicky Clarson, mitigating, said Smith, of previous good character, was disappointed to find herself in court.

On the day in question she was paying a surprise visit to her son in Mansfield Woodhouse but felt unwell and had to pull over.

The court heard she sustained a significant head injury after falling in January and also suffers from mental health issues.

The smell of cannabis was in fact from cannabis oil she used on her injured shoulder, said Ms Clarson.

“She said the police were not that gentle when they dragged her out of the car,” she added. “She was disorientated. She struggled as a result.

"The pleas are entered on a reckless basis because she was not quite clear about what was happening.”

Smith, of Yew Tree Drive, Shirebrook, admitted two counts of assaulting emergency workers and failing to provide a specimen, when she appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

She was fined £269 for each officer she assaulted, with £100 compensation, a £215 surcharge and £85 costs, making a total of £938.

Her driving licence was endorsed with ten points.