‘Don’t mess me about’, judge tells court drunk

Woman defendant behind bars over Christmas given ‘some slack’ this time

A WOMAN put behind bars by a judge for Christmas after she turned up drunk for her court sentence was back for a courtroom showdown with the same judge.

But after spending more than a month in a cell, Donna Urquhart, 43, was sober and contrite on this occasion at Portsmouth Crown Court.

The mum was being sentenced for an affray where she lashed out with a baseball bat and said she was stabbed in the head with a meat cleaver.

In December, Urquhart paid the price for her blatant drunkenness in court when judge William Ashworth locked her up – sparking a foul-mouthed onslaught against the judge by a male friend of the defendant.

The man brazenly mocked the judge’s ‘silly wig’ and asked if he was ‘having a laugh’ for locking up Urquhart.

Security then intervened in an attempt to quell spiralling ugly scenes as Urquhart was taken down to custody while her friend was ushered from the court.

On Friday, judge Ashworth told Urquhart: ‘I hope you appreciate why I did what I did before Christmas.

‘You can’t parent when you are drunk,’ he said. He then handed out an 18-month community order with an alcohol treatment requirement, 20 rehabilitation days and an electronic tag for two weeks from 6pm to 6am.

‘I am giving you some slack on this but don’t mess me about,’ the judge added.

Urquhart, of April Square,

Buckland, had been involved in a street feud on nearby St Faith’s Road on April 9, 2020, where she brandished a baseball bat.

In a statement to police, Urquhart said: ‘I was assaulted with a meat cleaver and had an injury to my head. I was only using reasonable force to defend myself.’

Chloe Rowsell, 22, of St Faith’s Road, received a 12-month community order at the previous hearing in December after admitting her part in the affray.