Woman fined £120 after admitting leaving abusive note on ambulance
'This was an absolutely despicable incident,' magistrate tells Kirsty Sharman
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A woman who admitted to leaving a foul-mouthed note on an ambulance has been fined £120.
Kirsty Sharman told paramedics to “move your f***king van” and said she “couldn’t give a s***” if the whole street collapsed.
The 26-year-old also shouted abuse at a male paramedic on the street in Stoke-on-Trent where the crew were responding to a 999 call from her next-door neighbour.
Sharman admitted writing the note and pleaded guilty to a public order offence at North Staffordshire Justice Centre in Newcastle.
“This was an absolutely despicable incident," Magistrate Christopher Rushton told her during sentencing.
“The fact it was directed at an ambulance crew providing a public service to a sick person. That crew should not be subject to actions such as these.”
The court heard that the paramedics had been responding to an emergency call from her neighbour whose wife was “experiencing breathing difficulties”.
Prosecutor Liz Ryder said there had been “ongoing difficulties” between Sharman and her neighbours, leading to a restraining order being issued against her.
“Throughout the course of the ambulance being parked, a note was left on the window of the ambulance," Ms Ryder said. “A neighbour saw that note being deposited by the defendant and they took it from the rear windscreen and posted it back through the defendant’s address, having torn it apart."
She added: “Clearly she accepts she was in a public place and her behaviour and language was disorderly and inappropriate in the circumstances.”
Sharman, through her solicitor Hayley Keegan, offered her “most sincere apologies to the ambulance staff”.
Ms Keegan added: “She accepts the behaviour was completely unacceptable.”
Sharman was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £30 and £135 costs, while a separate charge of breaching a restraining order was withdrawn by the prosecution.