A Limavady woman has been given a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting two healthcare workers at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.

Elaine Mary McCloskey, 49, of Church Street, admitted two charges of assault relating to an incident on May 22 this year. While attending the hospital as a patient, McCloskey punched a doctor on the back and then pushed a nurse, causing him to fall.

Derry Magistrates' Court heard that McCloskey accepted responsibility immediately and expressed genuine contrition, offering personal apologies to the injured parties. Her solicitor, Jack Quigley, said the behaviour was out of character.

District Judge Suzanne Rice noted that McCloskey had gone from being a patient to an aggressor very quickly, and said the courts take a very dim view of assaults on health care professionals.

McCloskey was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to pay £150 compensation to each of the two victims.