Ilfracombe woman pleads guilty to punching police officer

A WOMAN who drunkenly punched a police officer in the face has been ordered to pay £50 compensation.

Kelly Camm, 23, of Ilfracombe, committed the offence as a result of falling off the wagon after seven years of sobriety.

Camm, a mother of three, appeared at North Devon Magistrates’ Court on Friday where she pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer and being drunk and disorderly.

The court heard police were called to DJ’s Sports Bar in Ilfracombe at around 12.45am on January 13 where Camm was discovered being abusive to members of the public.

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Mark Haddow, for the prosecution, said: “Officers told her to vacate the town centre and not come back.

“45 minutes later they were called to the Seahorse pub just down the road and found Miss Camm being abusive to members of the public.

“She was arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour but somehow managed to slip out of her handcuffs and punch her arresting officer, PC Joey Stephenson, in the face.

“She also grabbed the officer’s hair and flung her head back and forth while verbally abusing her.”

The court heard officers used pepper spray to control Camm before taking her to the cells in Barnstaple.

Michael Oerton, for the defence, said Camm had recently moved to Ilfracombe from Nottingham to live with her parents and sister.

He said: “Since she first fell pregnant in April 2007 she has stopped drinking altogether.

“This was her first night of drinking in seven years, she broke that golden rule.

“She doesn’t remember anything except waking up in a police cell having regrettably made an exhibition of herself. This has been a major wake up call.”Camm was given a three month community rehabilitation order with a curfew between 8pm and 8am.

She was ordered to pay £50 compensation to PC Stephenson and a victim surcharge of £60.