A woman, who violently lashed out at staff members when attempting to board the Eurostar, has been ordered to pay compensation to her victims after she began ‘swinging’ at staff
A woman violently lashed out at staff members when she tried to board the Eurostar and was asked for her ticket.
When Tequila King was approached by workers, who asked to see her ticket at St Pancreas Station last November, she flipped out at them. Newcastle Magistrates’s Court heard how the 23-year-old quickly became aggressive and started ‘swinging’ towards the group of staff, which included three men and two women.
During the altercation, which took place in November 2023, one of the victims was also spat at by the woman. King, of Harlow Place, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to five counts of assault by beating.
Prosecutor Ian Martin said the violence started after King was approached by staff when she entered the “ticket only” section at the station. He said: “When she has been challenged by staff she has become aggressive. She has started throwing her arms and struck various members of staff including spitting in the face of one of them.”
No victim impact statements were read to the court but Mr Martin said King had seven previous convictions on her record. The court heard she was subject to a community treatment programme at the time of the offending and has also been detained in a mental health hospital.
James Rickerby, defending, said King had believed leaving the country was the safest option for her at the time and was suffering “acute difficulties”. He added: “When she was stopped she was panicking and believed it was necessary to ensure her safety. She is remorseful and deeply sorry for the harm she has caused to the people just doing their jobs. She is still a young woman. She is only 23 and was just 22 at the time of the offence.”
Chair of the magistrates’ bench James Parker ordered King to pay £50 in compensation each to four of the victims, and £100 to the one she spat at, totalling £300. Mr Parker told her: “You’ve pleaded guilty to these charges.
“The court recognises that you face considerable issues with regards to your mental health at the present time. It’s well documented and there are good reasons why you are in the position you are in now.
“Taking you into custody would be totally the wrong thing to do. It would be negative and not a positive constructive way of dealing with you.
“Therefore because of your circumstances of you being detained we are going to deal with these by way of a compensation order. That basically means we are going to order compensation to be paid to the victims of your violent behaviour. We will make an order for deduction of benefits at a rate of £20 per month.”