Ellie Burns, a woman from Bradford, has been jailed for 20 months after attacking two female shoppers at Kirkgate Market in Yorkshire. This attack happened just 25 days after Burns had already appeared in court for racially assaulting a taxi driver.
Burns attacked the shoppers after they complained that a song she was singing was racist. The court heard that she punched and spat at the first woman. She also pulled her hair and ripped her hijab off, before slapping and pushing over the second woman. The prosecutor, Giles Bridge, said that the incident deeply distressed both victims, adding that Burns scratched and “nipped” a police officer who arrived at the scene.
This incident was just one in a series of offences committed by Burns. Previously, she received a suspended 15-month prison sentence for attacking a taxi driver and five arresting police officers under the influence of vodka and cocaine. During the incident, she racially harassed the driver and punched him in the face, bruising him and causing a cut to his eye. While at the station, she kicked and spat at an officer, and threatened to bite his nose.
It was in June, when she was on bail for the aforementioned attack, that she assaulted two more police officers in Ravenscliffe. She spat on one officer and kicked a police door onto the other officer’s legs. Also in June, she tried to open the door of a police vehicle in Valley Road, Shipley. This attempt was so she could let out a man who’d been detained, which led to her kicking and punching officers and threatening to break an officer’s nose with her handcuffs.
Burns was remanded in custody in July and underwent probation and psychiatric reports. Her barrister, Camille Morland, said that while Burns did not have a mental illness, she was suffering from serious emotional trauma. She was struggling with substance abuse and aggression as a result of an abusive relationship. This relationship is allegedly what led to her being introduced to Class A drugs and alcohol.
Morland appealed to the character of Ellie Burns using her ability to deal with challenging situations as a care assistant, claiming “When sober and calm, she is insightful and thoughtful. When she is intoxicated, it is another story.”
The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC acknowledged Burns’ troubles, saying that “Life hasn’t been at all easy for (her)”. However, he went on to ask, “How can I overlook a flagrant breach of a suspended sentence?”. Burns pleaded guilty to two offences of racially aggravated common assault and of assaulting a police officer. The Judge activated 10 months of the suspended sentence and also sentenced Burns to a further 10 months for the new offences. These sentences will run consecutively.
By Charlie Murray
