A woman has been banned from keeping an animal for five years after she was convicted of repeatedly kicking a dog.

Norwich Magistrates Court heard Julie Cutting, 52, kicked a dog repeatedly while at a garage in Norwich.

Victoria Bastock, prosecuting, said she kicked the dog "six to seven times to her side" following an incident at First Performance Exhaust in Norwich.

Miss Bastock said she had been there with her dog and was attempting to get into her vehicle while staff were trying to shut up for the night.

She said that before she started kicking the dog, she chased one of the workers around the car and was swearing at him.

Cutting was previously convicted in her absence of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog, and using threatening/abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress on August 23 last year.

She has also previously been convicted of stealing £340 of wages from a man in June 2017. The court heard she took the money from his outdoor letter box having damaged it in June 2017.

She had also been convicted of that offence in her absence and another matter of failing to comply with the requirements of a community order on May 1 2018.

James Landells, mitigating, said the events at the garage occurred while the defendant was suffering from a "psychotic episode".

He said the offences occurred at a time when her mental health was in "some form of chaos".

He said in October 2018 the defendant's "already struggling mental health spiralled even further out of control" when her son and daughter-in-law died in a crash.

He said she did not attend her court cases or probation appointment but was now on a much more stable keel.

He said she had her medication sorted out and was also not drinking.

Cutting, of Heath Road, Lyng, was sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

She was disqualified from keeping any animal for the next five years and also ordered to stick to an electronically-monitored curfew for the next three months.

It means she must be at home between 7.30pm and 6am.

In addition she was ordered to pay £340 compensation, £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.