A YORK woman struck a policeman in the face during a violent struggle with officers as her father was being arrested, the city's magistrates heard.

But Naomi Margaret Beavers claimed she was merely trying to give her dad a "cuddle" before the officer was injured in a rowdy melee.

Prosecutor Colette Dixon said police were called to Carr Lane, Acomb, to arrest the defendant's father.

However, magistrates yesterday heard that as officers tried to detain him, his drunken daughter started "shouting and screaming" abuse and clung hold of him.

Miss Dixon added: "She would not let go of her father and let him go with the officers."

Another officer was called in as back-up before Beavers hit the first PC in the side of the face as she threw her arms around during a "violent struggle". This caused police to temporarily let go of her father.

Beavers, 24, was handcuffed and arrested after the fracas, which the court heard left PC Mohammed Khan with bruising and reddening to the right side of his face.

Sandra Keen, mitigating, said the injuries suffered by PC Khan at 10.30pm on the night of the offence were not serious enough to stop him interviewing the defendant at 1.40am next morning.

Mrs Keen said his injuries were "very much at the bottom end of the scale".

She said the incident itself was an alcohol-fuelled domestic situation that spiralled out of control.

She said Beavers was "extremely upset" when she saw her father being arrested.

Beavers admitted in interview she could not remember what she was shouting about.

When questioned about reaching out for her father in the heat of the moment, she replied that she "wanted to give him a cuddle".

Beavers told police: "It was me who went a bit mad."

Beavers, of Poppleton Road, admitted assaulting a police constable on December 9 last year and failing to attend court on January 13.

She was also in breach of a one-year conditional discharge imposed last October for a theft offence.

Magistrates gave her a six-month community rehabilitation order and ordered her to pay £50 costs.

Updated: 09:23 Wednesday, February 11, 2004