Property heiress Chloe Pidgley has admitted spitting in a police officer’s face and kicking his colleague as they tried to protect her during a mental health breakdown.
The 26-year-old granddaughter of Berkeley Homes founder Tony Pidgley was found by two Pcs in distress and having cut herself when they were called to her Earl’s Court apartment.
Hendon magistrates’ court heard that Pc Calum Jackson and Pc Jake Harris attempted to detain Pidgley under the mental health act for her own safety, fearing she was about to run into a busy road. Pidgley kicked Pc Harris in the groin as he blocked her path, and Pc Jackson was “momentarily blinded” when she spat in his face.
She had been due to face trial today but pleaded guilty this morning to two charges of assaulting a police officer.
Deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram delayed sentencing until Pidgley has been interviewed by probation staff.
The sobbing heiress was allowed to sit in the well of the court instead of the dock as she became distressed when details of the incident were given. The assaults happened on March 29, three days after Pidgley’s ex-boyfriend Antonio Henry had been jailed for 18 months for breaking two of her fingers in a domestic assault.
Henry threw a chair and a radiator at Pidgley in her home after she broke off their four-month relationship, leaving her in hospital with cuts and bruises as well as the broken fingers.
Prosecutor Katie Bryan told the court today that Pidgley had “fresh cuts to her wrists” and was threatening to harm herself further when the officers were called to her home.
“The defendant was intoxicated, very emotional, and refusing to engage with officers,” she added.
Ms Bryan said Pidgley “became more agitated” after being told she would be detained for her own safety if she tried to go outside, and then attacked the Pcs. Pidgley was pinned to the ground by the officers as she continued to struggle, and was eventually detained in a mental health unit. The court heard she has previous convictions for shoplifting and being drunk and disorderly and assaulting a police officer in 2015.
