A SELF harmer who kept glass in her pockets to cut herself and was spotted wandering down the street with a steak knife has been jailed.

Amanda Ponting carried tools around so she could injure herself, a court heard.

The 33-year-old threw glass from her pockets at police before assaulting them, and also threatened to stab herself with a knife until officers intervened.

Swindon magistrates court heard that Ponting, of Kerrs Way, Wroughton, was a continual self-harmer with mental health problems stemming from difficulties in her childhood.

She was charged with assaulting two police officers and a detention officer on two separate occasions, possessing an offensive weapon, and other public disorder offences.

She pleaded guilty to all of the offences, as well as to breaking a community rehabilitation order.

Prosecutor Nicola Wootton said two police officers were on duty on July 9 when they came across her lying on the pavement.

She said: "Two officers were on duty at around 9.30pm when they received reports of a female lying on the pavement apparently drunk outside the Thistle Hotel on Fleming Way.

"When they arrived they identified Ponting. She was conscious, but ignored them. When they tried to pull her to her feet, she started throwing broken glass that she kept in her pockets at them and shouting verbal abuse.

"They had to tackle her to try and restrain her and during the struggle she punched both officers."

In a separate incident on August 12 last year Ponting was seen walking down Fleming Way carrying a five-inch steak knife. Ms Wootton said: "When officers arrived they told her to put the knife down, but she ignored them.

"They threatened her with CS gas, but all she did was raise the knife up as if she was going to stab herself, so they sprayed her with it to make her drop it.

"When she was arrested they noticed dried blood around her wrists."

The court also heard that on May 5 last year she had been arrested for causing criminal damage behind Swindon police station and when she was taken to the cells she assaulted a detention officer.

And on September 13 Ponting went to the police station and started shouting verbal abuse down the phone outside and was again arrested.

She had also broken a community rehabilitation order by walking out of probation meetings.

Ponting's lawyer Tony Nogowloski, told the court his client suffered from mental health issues and that she was prone to unstable and impulsive behaviour as she had depression.

He said: "Having had an abusive childhood she started using alcohol as a crutch and she has a poor tolerance of others.

"She had the bladed article as she had the intention of committing suicide and there have also been a number of occasions of self-harm and that is why she is known to carry broken glass around with her.

"She is not someone who terrorises the police constantly, but someone who wants to be left alone and is only a danger to herself. The alcohol aggravates this."

Jailing her for four months, chairman of the bench David Packham said: "She has shown herself as a risk to the community, as well as police officers and so we can only impose an immediate custodial sentence."

Jamie Hill