Larne woman threatened to petrol bomb homes of social workers and used baseball bat to smash windows at solicitor's office

Sarah Beech (33), whose address was listed as Hampton Crescent, admitted two assaults, criminal damage, having a baseball bat as an offensive weapon and improper use of a communications network in relation to January 6 this year.

She appeared at Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Thursday, May 1 via video link from prison where she had been on remand for several months.

Regarding December 17 last year, the defendant admitted assaults, making threats to kill and threats to damage properties and improper use of a communications network.

On October 8 last year she admitted an assault and attempted criminal damage to a car in Larne.

A prosecutor told the court that in October, a social worker had been at the home of the defendant who became "irate". She was shouting and lobbed a plastic bottle of water, hitting a car door.

In December the defendant had been at a court in Belfast. A social worker was assaulted after the defendant did not "get the result she wanted".

Beech grabbed the social worker by the hair and threatened to kill her and her child and burn her house down.

A second social worker was punched in the face and threatened and a third social worker said that as the defendant left the court she threatened to kill her and her colleagues.

The court was told that Beech phoned an office and threatened to "petrol bomb all of the homes of the social workers".

The defendant uploaded a TikTok video "threatening to take law into her own hands".

In January this year after a hearing "didn't go in her favour" Beech made a TikTok video saying she was going to break windows at a solicitor's office.

She arrived at the office in Ballymena with a baseball bat and broke windows. Staff had locked the doors before she arrived but they were put in fear of assault.

The court heard the incident had been "terrifying" for staff.

The defendant's current solicitor told the court that the offences took place because the court processes had "got the better of" the defendant.

District Judge Nigel Broderick said the defendant had assaulted "public servants" - social workers - who were performing their public duty".

He said he had no doubt that the two secretaries at the solicitor's office would have been "terrified".

The defendant, who had a record, was jailed for 10 months. She was also made the subject of two-year Restraining Orders and she is not to be within 10 metres of the solicitor's office that she attacked.