Woman attacked cops trying to give her a lift

STRESSED out Natasha Woolley assaulted two police officers as they gave her a lift to a job centre.

They had been called to her family home in Attlee Road, Cheadle, after an altercation between the 26-year-old and her grandmother.

Woolley had been told to leave the address and was trying to remove her property from it.

Magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard the officers helped resolve the matter and then offered Woolley a lift into Hanley. She was due to attend an appointment at the job centre there later that day.

Emma Thompson, prosecuting, said: “While en route, there seemed to be some issues. The defendant started shouting and screaming in the rear of the car, asking to be let out. They pulled up at a bus stop to let her out.”

Woolley then hit one officer in the arm. After getting out of the vehicle, the police tried to handcuff her. She then kicked the other officer in the leg. Neither of them were injured in the incident.

The defendant went on to plead guilty to two charges of assaulting an emergency worker on February 3. She also admitted possessing two cannabis joints for her own use.

The court was told that Woolley has five previous convictions for similar assaults.

She suffers from severe anxiety, for which she is receiving treatment, and is also autistic.

On the day in question, something had triggered the argument with her gran and Woolley didn’t know where she was going to stay that night.

Iain Haley, mitigating, said: “She sat in the back of the police car cogitating and becoming more and more anxious about what would happen later that day.

“She became noisy and was told to be quiet. At that point, she couldn’t express her difficulties properly. She became increasingly frustrated.

“She accepts she lashed out towards the officers. She accepts what she did was foolish.”

Woolley, who was visibly upset in court, has since reconciled with her grandmother and is now back living with her in Cheadle.

The court heard she had previously been staying in a one-bed flat, but was ‘picked on and targeted by others’ and lost the accommodation.

Magistrates fined her £280 and also ordered her to make a £100 contribution towards court costs.

Jo Fox, chairwoman of the bench, told Woolley: “We understand there are complex issues and there is an element of vulnerability. But the officers were trying to help you.

“None of us come to work, or get paid enough, to get assaulted.”

She added: “It would certainly have been cheaper to call a taxi that day, rather than rely on police officers.”