Last updated at 5:59 PM on 27th June 2011
Guilty: Kelsey Donkin shouted 'bang bang' at the police officer who was blinded by gunman Raoul Moat
A woman faces jail for shouting 'bang, bang' and making a gun hand gesture at blinded police hero David Rathband.
Kelsey Donkin, 22, was told yesterday she could be given a 12 week prison sentence for her behaviour which left the officer feeling 'deeply hurt and upset.'
She made the comments when PC Rathband, who was shot by fugitive Raoul Moat, was walking into Newcastle Crown Court to attend the trial of two of the gunman' s accomplices.
She was said to be showing off in front of a group of people and was immediately confronted by a colleague of PC Rathband.
Donkin pleaded guilty to a public order offence of causing the shot police officer harassment, alarm or distress. She had previously denied the charge.
Sentencing was adjourned for reports, but the bench Chairman at Newcastle Magistrates' Court warned the defendant to expect the custodial sentence.
PC Rathband, 43, was shot at point-blank range and blinded by Moat in July last year when he was on the run after seriously injuring his ex-partner and killing her new boyfriend.
The incident involving Donkin happened in March at the trial of accomplices who were later jailed for life.
The court heard after making the 'bang, bang' comment she turned to her friends and laughed.
A friend Robin Palmer was with PC Rathband at the time. He said: 'David said to me 'did they say what I think they said?'
'I turned around and I saw the female quite clearly making the gesture of holding a gun in her hands.
'It was clear to me that she was making the gesture of a gun or more to the point a shotgun or rifle. I was concerned at what was going to happen. It was appalling. I felt physically sick.'
'Distress: PC David Rathband speaks to the media outside Newcastle Magistrates' Court
Detective Constable Alison Brown confronted the woman, but she denied the gesture was directed at PC Rathband.
In a statement, PC Rathband said: 'I felt sick at the thought of someone saying "bang, bang" behind my back. It is the first time I have encountered animosity or hostility towards me.
'This has caused me great distress. I'm deeply hurt by the actions of the female. I still feel sick to my stomach.
'I have had to sit in court concentrating on the events that left me blind, knowing this female thinks it's funny.'
Harrassment: PC David Rathband arrives at court. He lost his sight after Raoul Moat blasted him in the face with a shotgun
Judith Curry, defending, said Donkin, who is jobless and on benefits, had become a 'figure of hate' to people because of what she had done.
'She said she wanted to give a letter to PC David Rathband which she wrote after being arrested, so he can understand how deeply sorry she is.'
Donkin, from Sunderland, told the court: 'I am sorry.'
When asked outside court whether he thought Donkin deserved to go to jail, PC Rathband said 'yes, I do.'
He said: 'I hope that she'll realise one day that her little joke not only had a devastating effect on me but my wife and children too.'
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