A MUM-of-four has been warned she will not be able to use her children as a "get out of jail free card" if she finds herself in court in the future.

Kelly Humphreys, of Australia Street in Ponciau, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Monday morning to be sentenced.

The 34-year-old had been convicted at previous hearings of driving whilst disqualified and uninsured, as well as two counts of breaching a restraining order and assault - all of which took place earlier this year.

Judge Rhys Rowlands told the court he was reluctant to separate a mother from her young children, but had little choice given the options available to him.

He adjourned the sentence for a few days in order for community based punishments to be canvassed.

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At her subsequent hearing, held on Thursday, Judge Timothy Petts heard from John Wyn Williams, defending, that his client would be  "willing and able" to carry out unpaid work, which would give a punitive aspect to the sentence.

He argued that as a mother of four young children, she shouldn't be separated from them if there was an alternative to custody.

The court heard at the last hearing that the victims of the restraining order breach were Humphreys' ex-partner Paul Williams and Mr Williams' present partner Nicola Griffiths on February 3.

Humphreys had assaulted Ms Griffiths on that occasion, leaving her with "extensive but superficial" scratches on her face.

The motoring offences were charged after she was stopped driving a red Citroen motor vehicle on the A55 at Colwyn Bay.

At the previous hearing, Mr Wyn Williams said with regards to the offences against Ms Griffiths and Mr Williams, there had been "an element of provocation," but she nevertheless accepted she was in breach of the order.

He added: "She was in a relationship with Paul Williams for some 14 years which ended in 2019.

"That's when her life spiralled out of control. In 2020 she went to Hafan Wen to detoxify and it seems she has turned her life around since then."

Judge Petts told the defendant her offences individually were not particularly serious - but taken together, and bearing in mind they put her in breach of a suspended sentence, they were more so.

He opted to suspend the custodial sentence which the court on the last occasion heard she "richly deserved," but the Judge warned her: "You have to understand, if you breach any orders, future courts are going to be left with little alternative.

"There's a limit to how many times you can say 'I am the mother of young children.'

"You can't use that as a get out of jail free card.

The Leader:

"Having relied on your children as mitigation this time round, it's unlikely you will be allowed to do so in future."

In all, Humphreys received a 38 week custodial sentence, suspended for two years.

During that time, she must do 100 hours of unpaid work, a 120 day alcohol monitoring requirement, 30 days of rehabilitation activity and be monitored by a GPS tag for six months.

The suspended sentence was not activated, but Judge Petts added an additional 20 hours of unpaid work to mark the breach.

For the motoring crimes, Humphreys received a 22 month ban.

The restraining order protecting Paul Williams and Nicola Griffiths was extended by two years, to February 2027.