A mother has been jailed despite her lawyer making an emotional plea to allow her freedom.

Tanya Roberts, 35, admitted swearing and kicking at police officers as she was arrested at 1am on December 19 last year.

Roberts was cautioned outside the Hippodrome nightclub in High Street, Colchester, but continued to be aggressive.

Yesterday, in mitigation, her solicitor Mark Francis said he was playing "moral blackmail" to try to persuade Colchester magistrates not to jail her.

He said: "We are dealing with her children and not Mrs Roberts. She is currently trying to help her 15-year-old with his drinking problem and the family is threatened with eviction."

Mr Francis said history was in danger of repeating itself after Mrs Roberts had suffered a difficult and violent childhood.

However, the court heard that Roberts, of Heatley Way, Colchester, already had one conviction for assaulting a police officer and had been under a community rehabilitation order (CRO) in December.

Roberts was jailed for two months. The CRO will continue when she is released.

Published Tuesday, January 25, 2005

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