A Sidmouth woman who broke an order not to drink alcohol in public has been put under a six-week electronic curfew.

Fiona Taylor of Lymebourne Park was subject to a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) because of previous public order offences which forbade her from being drunk in a public place.

She broke the order when she went drinking in Exeter and was arrested in the city on September 2 last year.

It put her at risk of being sent to prison because she had received a 12-week suspended sentence for the earlier offences, which included an assault on police.

A judge at Exeter Crown Court decided not to activate the sentence after hearing that Taylor is seeking help for a long-standing alcohol problem and is the main carer for her mother, who has dementia.

Taylor, 46, admitted breach of a CBO and was fined £200 with £200 costs, and curfewed for six weeks by Judge David Evans.

He told her: “This offence, of itself, does not justify a custodial sentence. I understand it is incredibly difficult to get over the problem that you are struggling with. Immediate custody would have a significant effect on your mother.”

Mr Paul Grumbar, prosecuting, said Taylor was made subject of both the CBO and the suspended sentence in October 2020 for three counts of assaulting emergency workers and a public order offence.

She was arrested while drunk in Exeter in September 2021, putting her in breach of the order.

Miss Evie Dean, defending, said Taylor is motivated to overcome her addiction to alcohol and abuse of drugs but is hampered by mental health issues.

She started a residential rehabilitation course in Cornwall but was unable to complete it because of severe anxiety. She is hoping to have another try and is being assessed by the drug and alcohol service.

Miss Dean said Taylor is volunteering at an organic sheep farm and wants to do the same in a charity shop.