A REPEAT offender was arrested for being drunk and disorderly just hours after leaving court for the same charge.

Gemma Payne had nine convictions for 11 offences, magistrates heard on Thursday, prior to the latest incident which saw her punch a man in front of the police while drunk.

The incident, which resulted in her being arrested and spending the night in the cells, occurred at 4.30pm on September 26 – hours after she had been fined for a similar offence by city magistrates.

The 24-year-old was spotted by officers in Moor Street, Worcester, standing in the middle of the road with two men before striking one of them.

Having initially ran off into nearby Brittania Road, where she lives, prosecutor Emily Clewer said the defendant approached one of the officers and then assaulted one of the men again.

Ms Clewer said Payne was "aggressive, confrontational and appeared to be drunk" due to smelling of alcohol and slurring her speech.

She was subsequently arrested and kept in the kept in custody through the night having been interviewed at 1.05am on September 27.

Mark Stanley, defending, said when interviewed by the police, his client "couldn't remember a great deal" about the incident.

He said there was "some sort of argument going on between the two males" and that Payne acted "unruly" and "somewhat aggressive" at the scene.

"Drink has been a bit of a problem in recent months," he continued, adding she is "trying her best to control it moving forward" and "apologises again for wasting police time".

The court heard Payne is not currently working but is hopeful of securing employment in Bristol but for the time being is in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance.

Chair of the bench Judith Hulland said it was unfortunate the offence had happened immediately after her last court hearing and said magistrates took into account the fact she had spent a night in custody when sentencing. Payne was ordered to pay a total of £247 in fines and costs.

Payne has also been convicted of being drunk and disorderly in February 2017 and July 2018.

The latter charge related to her swearing at police outside Glover's Needle pub in Warndon while drunkenly celebrating England's World Cup win over Tunisia in June last year, for which she was given a two-year CBO.