A WOMAN who bit, scratched and spat at a police inspector when trouble flared at the funeral wake of a cousin, was spared prison yesterday.

Magistrates heard how mother-of-two Louise Hart turned abusive and violent as police quelled trouble outside the Mapplebeck pub, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Trouble flared when relatives and friends were holding a wake in the Knaresbrough Road pub for Michael Hart, who took a cocktail of ecstasy tablets and amphetamines, before his death on April 23.

Hannah Sherwood, prosecuting, said police got involved when drunken mourners began confronting one another.

Hart, 25, of Stockwell Lane, Knaresborough, saw friends being arrested and grabbed Inspector Stuart Mackleston, shouting obscenities and spitting in his face.

She violently resisted attempts to restrain her and was forced to the ground where the struggle continued. Insp Mackleston was bitten on one arm and scratched on the other.

When Hart pleaded guilty to assault on a police officer on May 23, she also admitted receiving clothing worth £149 stolen from two Harrogate stores.

Clive Farndon, defending, said Hart was grief-stricken at the funeral and was subjected to accusations and recriminations over her cousin's death from other mourners.

He added that she began drinking and when trouble flared, she intervened.

Court chairman David Davies told Hart prison had been considered for ''a nasty, vicious little assault''.

He imposed a 12-month community order with probation supervision and attendance on alcohol education and anger management programmes.

No order was made for costs, but Hart was told to pay the victim of her attack £120 compensation.