Street drinker fleeing in front of moving traffic on Granby Street, fined

A 44-year-old woman drinking on Granby Street caused traffic delays by running in front of traffic. Leicestershire Police were called to the shopping street in Leicester city center on Sunday, May 26, and found New with a can of alcohol in hand, jumping on the pavement.

They tried to tell her to stop, but she ignored them, so they arrested her and charged her with being drunk and disorderly. On Wednesday (12 June) she appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court – for the fourth time in the last nine months – and was fined.

The court heard that New, of no fixed address, was convicted last October of using threatening or disorderly behaviour, given a community order which was still ongoing, and was then back in court the following month for theft. She already had two convictions in 2024 for racially aggravated threatening or disorderly conduct and breaching a community order.

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Prosecutor Adeel Zafar told the court: “She was seen in Granby Street walking in front of moving traffic and officers asked her to stop but she did not engage with them. She smelled of alcohol, she was unsteady on her feet. and he had a can of alcohol in his hand.”

He said New had 66 offenses on her record in total. Kate Nield, representing New, said that despite breaching the community order, New was now “engaging with probation” and had stopped taking drugs.

She said: “She is a lady with many problems. He stopped using drugs and cut down on drinking.

“She is extremely vulnerable. She has a lot going on in her life. She struggles and when things get tough for her she will drink, which is what happened today.”

New, who remains subject to a community order since last October, was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 victim surcharge.