Retford knife woman blamed cops for online shame

A Retford woman who brandished a knife at police officers, after making a series of nuisance 999 calls, blamed them for putting her picture online, a court heard.
Mansfield Magistrates CourtMansfield Magistrates Court
Mansfield Magistrates Court

Amy Corringham was quickly disarmed after she waved the small fruit knife in a "slashing motion" in the car park at Retford police station, on July 24.

"She mentioned stabbing a police vehicle out of frustration, several times," said prosecutor Daniel Pietryka.

He said Corringham made nuisance 999 calls on June 14, July 25, and August 22.

The court heard she received an absolute discharge for three counts of making hoax calls to police in January and February, after she was deemd not fit to plead in July.

Ian Pridham, mitigating, said: "It's clear her mental health has been deteriorating for some time."

He said she had suffered the death of her father, the breakdown of a relationship and had also lost her job in a short space of time.

"When her life is stable she is fine," Mr Pridham said. "As soon as something goes wrong, she loses reality, if I can put it that way."

He said trouble began when a friend told Corringham the police had posted her picture on their website and "it triggered her off."

"Her response was to blame the police," he said.

"She said: "You don't care. Would you care if a police officer was stabbed?"

"She accepts that she went to the police station to remonstrate and see if the picture could be taken down."

She made "cries for help" from phone boxes after her mobile phones were confiscated by police," Mr Pridham added.

Corringham, 36, of White Hall Road, admitted possession of a blade and three counts of making use of a public communication network to cause a nuisance, when she appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Thursday.

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