Her boyfriend even asked to be moved away from her on the flight
Catherine Bellis outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A mum turned violent onboard a plane after her bottle of vodka was confiscated. Catherine Bellis was repeatedly warned to stop drinking the duty free alcohol during a Ryanair flight from Tenerife before she assaulted her boyfriend and a member of cabin crew.
Staff then had to “babysit” the rowdy passenger for the remainder of the flight while police waited for her on the runway at John Lennon Airport. The café worker now says that the drunken episode was “the worst decision of her life”.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Monday, that Bellis and her partner Christopher Kenny boarded Ryanair flight 4345 from Tenerife to Liverpool on November 26 last year and had initially been seated beside one another. But cabin crew member Julie Pemberton thereafter noticed the latter “with his head in his hands”, at which stage he indicated that he wished to be moved.
Derek Jones, prosecuting, described how he was relocated to a seat in the middle of the plane as a result. Bellis, of Meadowcroft Park in West Derby, was meanwhile noted to have been drinking from a duty free bottle of vodka which was in her possession and warned against doing so.
Beata Haynes, an “experienced member of cabin crew” who has worked for Ryanair for 17 years, was later serving drinks from a trolley when the 44-year-old defendant order a can of coke from her. But she then poured a quantity of her vodka into this soft drink, leading to a second warning for consuming the duty free alcohol onboard.
However, around 20 minutes later, Bellis was seen drinking from this bottle once again. This led to “matters escalating” when Ms Haynes asked her to hand the liquor over.
Having initially refused to do so, Bellis later gave the bottle to Ms Pemberton after the captain issued a warning via an onboard announcement. Bellis subsequently continued to ask for more alcohol throughout the rest of the flight, as well as searching the plane for Mr Kenny and calling him names.
Catherine Bellis and her partner Christopher Kenny outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
He had to be moved to another seat at the rear of the aircraft as a result. Ms Pemberton stated that she “had to put herself between the defendant and Mr Kenny on a couple of occasions”, with the former also shouting at Ms Haynes: “What the f*** does she think she is? Because she refused to serve any more alcohol.”
Bellis subsequently launched an incredibly foul-mouthed tirade at the cabin crew member before pointing her finger at her and punching her own hand in a threatening manner. When the staff member put her palm out in an apparent effort to defuse the situation, she then hit her to the hand.
The mother-of-two then moved towards Mr Kenny and struck him to the side of the head before returning to her seat following the intervention of Ms Pemberton. Bellis however continued to make comments to other passengers, including saying: “What are you f***ing staring at?”
But she then remained “quiet” for the remaining 40 minutes of the flight before the plane landed at 3.20pm, although Ms Pemberton was said to have been left “babysitting” her during this time. The captain also had to issue a second PA announcement in which the she was ordered to stay in her seat.
Police officers later met Bellis, who was “slurring her words and unsteady on her feet”, on the tarmac upon touching down and arrested her. Under interview, she told detectives that she had been consuming vodka prior to boarding before having two further drinks on the plane as well as drinking from her duty free bottle.
She however “apologised and recognised that her action were unacceptable, especially on a plane full of people”. Bellis has no previous convictions.
Catherine Bellis outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Callum Ross, defending, said that his client had worked in a café for the past 13 years and stated that references supplied by her employer and friends “showed a very different side to the defendant, one which is hard working, kind, caring, considerate and family orientated”. He told the court: “Her partner, Mr Kenny, sits in court to support her today.
“She contributes positively to society in terms of that employment. She would lose that, were she to be sentenced to immediate custody. She has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety.
“The best way I can put it is to quote her, ‘the worst decision of her life’. She was emotional. She clearly made a very foolish and stupid decision to drink more alcohol than she usually does.”
Ms Ross added that Bellis’ 15-year-old son had been due to begin sitting his GCSE examinations today and said: “He will suffer a significant harmful impact if she is to be sent away today, both in terms of the future, so far as those exams are concerned, but also in a financial sense. This court can give her a final chance to retain her liberty and work with probation.”
Catherine Bellis and her partner Christopher Kenny outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Bellis admitted being drunk on an aircraft and two counts of assault. Appearing in the dock wearing a black blazer over all black clothing and high heeled shoes, she was handed a four-month imprisonment suspended for a year and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 25 days.
She was then seen to burst into tears as she walked out of the courtroom. Sentencing, Judge Stuart Driver KC said: “The authorities suggest that a short custodial sentence is necessary. The aggravating features are that you were also convicted of two assaults, but there is plenty of mitigation.
“You are of previous good character. You have no previous convictions but, also, references from friends and your employer show that you have positive good character and a good home and employment record.
Catherine Bellis and her partner Christopher Kenny outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“You showed immediate remorse and confessed straight away. What you did was completely out of character for you. You have been diagnosed as suffering from anxiety and depression, and you have shown an inclination to start therapy.
“You have a teenage son who depends on you and your partner. There is strong personal mitigation and a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, and custody would have a harmful impact on your son. I do not consider you to be a danger to the public, and so the sentence can be suspended.”