Woman will quit the booze after seeing shocking video in court

A HAVERFORDWEST woman this week vowed to undertake ‘a complete alcohol abstinence’ after being shown court video footage of her screaming, drunken and often incoherent abuse towards residents in a block of flats.

Louise Wiltshire, 59, entered the flats at Fleming Crescent on the night of March 10. The video, captured by one of the residents on her mobile phone, showed Wiltshire hammering on doors, kicking them with her feet and lunging towards one of the residents whilst shouting drunken abuse.

“The resident was frightened that she was going to be assaulted,” Crown Prosecutor Abigail Jackson told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

Earlier that night Wiltshire had made repeated 999 calls to the emergency services.

“The first time, the call handler noted that she was very difficult to understand,” she said. “She was slurring her words and was incoherent.

“She called 999 a second time, saying she was unhappy about an incident that the police had previously dealt with and then she called yet again, making repeated requests for police officers and an ambulance to attend an incident as she believed someone was dead.”

Police eventually discovered Wiltshire in a corridor at a block of flats in Fleming Crescent.

“She was screaming and shouting at the occupants and was verbally abusive,” continued Ms Jackson. “Her behaviour was totally unacceptable.”

Wiltshire, of Fleming Crescent, pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly in a public place, of common assault on the resident who fell backwards as she attempted to close her front door on the defendant and of causing wasteful employment of police time.

She was legally represented in court by Mr David Williams.

“The lady you see before you this morning is completely different to the lady you saw in the video footage,” he said.

“The first thing she told me this morning was how bad she feels about what happened.”

Mr Williams went on to say that the defendant’s behaviour spirals out of control after she consumes large quantities of alcohol.

“For a dangerously long time, my client has had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol,” he said. “She has previously made efforts, but the point has now arrived where she realises that controlled drinking is not the way for her.

“As we all know, it’s very easy after a few drinks to tempt yourself into another one, but for this lady, it’s fatal. Alcoholism is a bad illness that takes several attempts to combat. Please give my client the opportunity to start her journey towards complete abstinence.”

Wiltshire was sentenced to a 24 month community order during which she must carry out 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 200 hours of unpaid work. She was also subject to a 120day alcohol monitoring requirement. She must pay court costs of £85 and a £114 surcharge.

“I’d just like to say how terribly sorry I am,” Louise Wiltshire told the magistrates following her sentence. “Hearing that video was what I needed. It was disgusting.”