A mum was told she had been ‘very fortunate’ to avoid jail after launching a foul mouthed drunken tirade on a flight.
Shirley Devine was held by police after the plane landed at Manchester Airport. The cabin crew had called in officers because of the 44-year-old’s abusive behaviour, on a flight home from a family holiday in Gran Canaria.
Just weeks before the incident, she had appeared in court for drink driving. Deciding to give her another chance, Judge Elizabeth Nicholls said: “You may consider yourself very fortunate.”
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Manchester Crown Court heard how earlier on during the flight, on September 30, cabin crew had noticed that she had been sitting with her head resting on her arms. Devine told them she was okay, although they noted a smell of alcohol.
Later, a member of the cabin crew felt someone push them from behind, as Devine tried to get around her. She then called the cabin crew member a ‘f****** fat bi***’.
She returned to her seat, and shortly after she was asked to hand over her boarding pass and passport so the cabin crew could check her details. But Devine became ‘aggressive’, prosecutor Sam Eskdale said.
The captain alerted the airport that the police would be required when the aircraft landed. When officers arrived they noticed that Devine appeared intoxicated and was slurring her words.
“You can just f*** off,” she said. After being put into a police van, she began ‘thrashing’ around and banging her head.
Just weeks earlier, on September 4, she had appeared at Liverpool Crown Court, for offences of drink driving and dangerous driving. Devine was given a suspended prison sentence, and as part of her punishment was ordered to remain abstinent from alcohol. Her barrister, Anthony Horsfall, said that she had not drunk alcohol during the holiday.
Mr Horsfall said that Devine had ‘turned to alcohol’ after a long term relationship broke down, and following the sudden passing of her father. He said that other than the incident on the flight, Devine has been complying well with probation and has been seeking support through a number of organisations.
Mr Horsfall said that Devine being jailed would have an impact on her teenage daughter, who relies on her for care needs. He said that the defendant has a job lined up as a hairdresser which would start next month.
Sentencing, the judge told Devine: “The experience of a drunk person in the confines of an aircraft is terrifying. It poses a risk to safety.
“You are an alcoholic.. That is an illness. Perhaps you have less control than others over your intake and ingestion of alcohol.”
The judge said she would defer sentencing until April, to allow time for Devine’s progress to be monitored. The alcohol abstinence order was ordered to continue.
“If you fail to comply with that order, then you know that you are sending yourself to custody,” Judge Nicholls told the defendant. “That’s the threat hanging over your head.”
Devine, of Cornfields Close, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to being drunk on an aircraft.
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