Men shouted at pub shouted at woman – then she pulled something from her bra

A woman ran at a group of men at a pub who shouted at her and she had to be held back after pulling a knife from her bra.

Carlene Francis had been walking along Regent Street in Hinckley when the men outside The New Baron of Hinckley spoke to her from across the road,Leicester Crown Court heard on Friday (September 19). CCTV showed Francis run towards the men before waving the blade at the men and she had to be pulled away by a friend as she continued jumping up and down while gesticulating.

Th defendant had pleaded guilty to possessing a blade in public and she faced a prison term because she already had a previous offensive weapon conviction from two years ago.

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Francis, 43, who had been recognised by Leicestershire Police officers from the CCTV and arrested later the same day, appeared by video link from prison where she is already serving a term for various other offences.

In July this year she was jailed for nine months after breaching a suspended sentence order. The latest incident, which happened on May 20, was prompted by Francis' long history of being a victim of attacks, her barrister, Gary Short, said.

He said that whenever she felt threatened by men she responded rather than run away due to previous attacks against her, which included a domestic abuse incident last summer in which she was thrown out of a window and suffered broken knees and a fractured pelvis.

Mr Short said she had been sexually abused as a child and had been homeless and "very much on her own" in her teenage years, reported LeicestershireLive.

He said: "She has been the victim of numerous sexual attacks and domestic violence. She has a long history of drug addiction and mental health issues. Because of her history, when she feels threatened by men she's not one to run away - she meets it head on."

He said that the CCTV showed that the men she threatened with the knife were just laughing at her while others sat outside the pub who looked up when the confrontation began had "just returned to their pints of lager" soon after.

He said: "No one left and nobody appeared to be distressed." He added that his client had been doing well behind bars, with a job and "enhanced status" in prison.

Recorder Anna Trussler, sentencing Francis, of Mill Hill Road, Hinckley, said: "You are a vulnerable individual in light of the experiences you have had and the challenges you've faced. I hope you go to rehab and move forward."

Francis was jailed for 35 weeks and the term will only begin after the release date from her nine-month sentence, which is usually half way through the term of the sentence.