A community nurse who worked on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic has been found guilty of four counts of assault after a bar fight in Swindon.

Shannon O’Sullivan, of Talbot Road in Bristol, had been at the Strawberry Thief pub in Swindon on the evening of May 19, 2023, when she began to cause issues and was asked to leave.

The 28-year-old was being escorted out of the premises by landlady Mairead Titcombe and her partner when she went deadweight, fell to the floor and started flailing her hands and feet.

The landlady attempted to restrain O’Sullivan but was punched in the face by the nurse, sending her £450 glasses to the floor.

O’Sullivan later assaulted three police officers and shouted at them to “f*** off” when they came to arrest her.

Swindon Advertiser: Shannon O'Sullivan was being escorted out of the Strawberry Thief beer garden when she punched the landlady.Shannon O'Sullivan was being escorted out of the Strawberry Thief beer garden when she punched the landlady. (Image: Dave Cox)

“At 10.50pm the landlady had been told that a customer was kicking off outside in the beer garden,” explained prosecutor Keith Ballinger.

“When O’Sullivan was escorted out, she fell to the floor and was then restrained. She asked for the grip to be loosened and then punched the landlady to the face.

“She became quite aggressive when speaking to officers and has said she didn’t believe she had been arrested so tried to walk away, but panicked when officers stopped her from leaving.

“Ms O'Sullivan then punched one police officer and lashed out at the other two, digging her nails into one officer's forearm. She has since admitted intending to cause injuries.”

According to Emma Hillier, defending, O’Sullivan had been suffering from several issues at the time of the assault. She said being a frontline nurse during the Covid-19 pandemic had negatively impacted her mental health.

Appearing before Swindon Magistrates' Court on Friday, February 23, O’Sullivan was found guilty of four counts of assault - three of which were against emergency workers - one count of criminal damage and one count of public disorder.

“This seems a fairly isolated incident and you have committed no more offences since this one. You seem to have made some changes to your life,” chair of the magistrates' bench David Barrand told the defendant.

The nurse has been given an 18-month community order with 20 rehabilitation activity days and ordered to pay £450 compensation to Ms Titcombe, £50 compensation to each police officer she assaulted, £200 in legal costs and a £114 victim surcharge.