A DRUNK mother-of-two hurled her car keys into the face of a police officer after getting behind the wheel while three times the legal alcohol limit.

Karli Nichols, 33, was pulled over after “cutting up” a police officer at the roundabout between Harwich Road and Bromley Road, Colchester.

Stuart Cowen, prosecuting at Colchester Magistrates’ Court, said: “She cut the marked police vehicle up, this caused him to have to stop his vehicle sharply.

“The Corsa was seen to mount the kerb.”

Mr Cowen said she was heard to shout out “I’m completely p*****”.

Nichols, who had a passenger in the car, removed her keys from the ignition and refused to hand them over to the officer.

“He reached towards her to get the keys to prevent her from driving away and she proceeded to throw the bunch of keys, hitting him in the face,” said Mr Cowen.

Nichols was restrained and was “extremely abusive.”

Mr Cowen said: “The defendant made noises in her throat like she intended to spit.”

In interview, Nichols said she had been drinking with her friend and had consumed two bottles of wine.

A breath test carried out at Colchester police station recorded 101mg in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Nichols, of Coats Hutton Road, Colchester, admitted assaulting an emergency service worker and drink driving.

Levent Kemal, mitigating, said Nichols suffers from a personality disorder and depression.

He added: “She has two children, three and six-years-old, and they are dependant on her. She is remorseful and needs to get her life back on track.

“She says she is going to attend college in September.”

Magistrates banned Nichols from the roads for 28 months and ordered her to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.