A drug-addict stripped off and showed police her private parts after she was arrested for stealing cleaning products from a discount store.

Courtney Evans, who has a history of becoming violent with cops, was apprehended by officers after stealing £27.50 of household items from the Poundland store in Maidstone.

When the 27-year-old was taken into custody, she started banging on the cell door and throwing water over a pillow. She then stripped off until she was naked, showing the officers her private parts, and started playing with herself.

Her arrest in February was just one of her crimes. Evans, of Saltings Road, Snodland, had been awaiting sentence over other offences she committed last year.

Not only had she stolen hundreds of pounds of groceries from the BP service station at Holborough Lakes, in August last year she bit the hand of a police officer who had been trying to help her when she had a mental health incident.

In total, Evans admitted six counts of shoplifting, one count of assault on an emergency worker and one of behaving indecently at a police station.

A pre-sentencing report was ordered and she was sentenced at Medway Magistrates’ Court on March 27.

Lucie Fish, prosecuting, told the court Evans had stolen hundreds of pounds of goods from the Holborough Lakes BP garage which has an M&S Food Hall inside. She said she went into the service station on five occasions to pilfer items.

They heard she and someone else stole £139.50 of groceries from the Snodland garage on October 2, last year and then went back on October 15 and stole £78.75 of food.

Not stopping there, just days later, on October 17, they went back to the same garage twice and swiped £74.90 of food items on the first occasion and took more on the second, but magistrates heard the items taken on that occasion were of an unknown value.

The pair also returned on October 20 and took another £24.75 of groceries.

The court also heard she stole £27.50 of cleaning and washing items from Poundland in Maidstone on February 26. It was after this arrest that she behaved indecently in the police cell.

Ms Fish added: “There are six shoplifting offences and she has previous for shoplifting.

“Officers arrested her on February 26 for shoplifting items and when she was put in a cell she started banging on the cell door and had thrown water all over her pillow.

“She then lifted her top up and then removed all her clothing and then showed the offices her private parts and was touching herself multiple times.

“On another occasion, on August 13, last year, she was in distress with her mental health and an officer went to help her and she tried to get a cigarette out of her purse and the office saw a white powder, but there were no charges for that [the white powder].

“Then, when she was arrested, she started smashing her head against the back of the van and then bit an officer on the side of his hand. It was a superficial wound and didn’t break the skin.”

In his victim impact statement the officer said he had only been trying to help her and that her bite left a small mark on his hand.

The prosecutor added: “She has previous for assault and assault on police officers and the bite aggravates this [latest] offence.”

Matt Nickolls, defending, said his client had had a difficult life which was rather pitiful, but didn’t go into that much further detail other than saying she had been a victim.

He added: “She clearly needs rehabilitation. It’s a vicious circle - her use of drugs and then she has to feed herself.

“She’s on the police file as getting violent on arrest, so they are heavy-handed with how they arrest her and she was trying to remonstrate with them about how they had arrested her as she was left black and blue.

“She did self-harm in the police vehicle and the officer got caught in the crossfire and it was not a serious injury.”

He also explained that after she was arrested for the Poundland offence and granted bail, she had been given bail conditions by the police not to go to Maidstone where she lived.

Mr Nickolls added: “She reacted to this as she lives there with her partner and dog and that’s why she took her clothes off and got naked as she wanted to show officers the bruising on her body.

“She did enter guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity and she needs help going forward.”

Magistrates decided to place Evans on a 12-month community order which will see her complete 10 rehabilitation sessions, carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and complete a three-month drug rehabilitation requirement.

She was also ordered to pay the officer she bit £100 compensation and half the amount of what she stole from the shops, £158.95, as the co-defendant would be ordered to pay the other half.