AN alcoholic mum who urinated on a man while cavorting on a war memorial has been locked up for seven months.

It was the third time in two years that homeless Kelly Martin has committed a disgusting act at the memorial in Grays High Street.

Basildon Magistrates’ Court heard the 43-year-old also outraged public decency by squatting outside the town's police station while telling an officer: “I said I needed a ****.”

Martin appeared by videolink from Peterborough Prison, where she was being held on remand for a string of offences.

Ashley Petchey, prosecuting, said Martin was spotted on April 4 by a shop security guard being pushed along Grays High Street in a shopping trolley by John Hicks. Mr Hicks was not in court.

He said: “Both had been drinking in the High Street. She was spreading her legs while being pushed in the trolley. The security guard, Mr Webb, heard her say something vulgar."

“He said shoppers were disturbed by this.”

Mr Petchey said Martin then tried to get into the shop clutching a can of cider, but was blocked by Mr Webb because she already had a lifetime ban.

The court heard Martin then unleashed a flurry of ineffectual kicks and punches and the police were called.

A further offence took place in Orsett Road, Grays, on May 11, again with Mr Hicks. On that occasion, the pair were questioned by police for being abusive to another man.

Four days later, on May 15, police were called to an area outside Marks & Spencer, in Lakeside, Thurrock, where Martin and Mr Hicks were fondling each other.

Mr Petchey said: “The couple were being abusive. They had been placing themselves in sexual act positions, while fully clothed, in front of other customers.”

The court heard a small amount of cannabis was later found on Martin when she was searched at a police station.

Martin committed another offence of exposure and criminal damage on May 22, for which she was sentenced to three months in prison at Basildon Crown Court in June.

But she was free by September 29, when she walked into Grays police station, in Brooke Road.

Mr Petchey said: “She entered the police station and asked to use the toilet.

“The PC has advised her there are no toilets at the police station and she replied: ‘Well I will go and piout the front of the station then.’

“The officer has gone outside after her and found her in the squatting position urinating on the concrete.

“He said: ‘What are you doing?’ She replied: ‘I told you I needed a ****’.”

The most serious offence took place on October 5, at the war memorial in Grays High Street, again with Mr Hicks.

Mr Petchey said: “Officers were called to reports of drunken behaviour. They identified the defendant and Mr Hicks.

“The defendant was seen squatting and urinating on Mr Hicks on the war memorial.

“She was very intoxicated and holding a can of extra-strength lager.”

He added: “The only times she stops committing offences is when she’s in prison or remanded in custody.”

Martin then yelled at the court: “Yeah, yeah. Apparently I do it every week.”

Martin was jailed for seven months in September last year for urinating on the same memorial in April 2016, when it was still covered in Remembrance poppy wreaths.

She did it again in front of horrified shoppers while out on bail last June, just one day before the 100th anniversary of the start of the battle of the Somme.

At the time, Judge John Lodge told her: “Inevitably war memorials were constructed at the centre of towns and villages so that on a daily basis people could be reminded of the sacrifices made by people who died.

“People use them as a place around which they congregate and that’s not wrong, but when people take that step further and abuse them by urinating on them that’s a matter the court needs to take very seriously indeed.”

Penny Simons, mitigating, said the latest offences “speak for themselves”.

She said: “Miss Martin has had a difficult background. At the moment she is in prison and doing very well, but the problem is when she’s released she has nowhere to go.

“She does have children but she sees them occasionally. There is no place for her to stay. She’s been homeless now for about two-and-a-half years.

“Mr Hicks is her colleague and her friend and occasionally she does stay with him.”

Martin admitted two counts of outraging public decency, assault, using threatening behaviour, being drunk and disorderly and possession of cannabis.

She was jailed for a total of seven months for the two outraging public decency offences and two months for the assault, to run concurrently.

There were no further punishments for the other offences but she must pay £115 compensation to the security guard.