A woman who shouted racist abuse at a man blocked from getting to hospital to see his daughter during anti-immigration protests in Belfast has avoided imprisonment.
Lisa Hinton, 42, was handed a four-month suspended sentence for what the judge described as a “disgusting” outburst.
The mother-of-four, of Deerfin Park in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly behaviour.
Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard Hinton was going to meet her daughter when she decided to join a protest on the Shore Road, close to a slip lane onto the M2 motorway, on August 3 last year.
A number of vehicles travelling in the area were unable to pass the crowd and forced to turn around.
During the protest a man on a motorbike tried to get through to attend a hospital where his daughter was being treated for undisclosed injuries.
A prosecution lawyer said: “The crowd stopped him and upon realising he was of an Asian background the defendant shouted at him “f*** off you Paki b******, go back to your own country and kill your own kids’.”
Police called to the scene separated Hinton and the rest of the crowd from the victim, who then managed to ride off.
Hinton’s solicitor, Stephen Cassidy, acknowledged it was an “extremely unpleasant” incident which she now regrets.
He told the court she has never been in trouble before and played no role in organising the protest.
“She was going to meet her adult daughter to go shopping and got caught up in this incident,” Mr Cassidy submitted.
Sentencing Hinton to four months in jail, suspended for three years, District Judge Steven Keown branded the episode “racist disorderly behaviour”.
He stated: “It’s a very serious offence and disgusting behaviour. If it happens again she will go straight into custody.” ends