A FORMER prostitute who repeatedly breached court orders has walked free from court after spending a weekend in police cells.

A FORMER prostitute who repeatedly breached court orders has walked free from court after spending a weekend in police cells.

Phillipa Walker, was arrested on Friday for failing to attend South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court on July 10 when she was convicted in her absence of breaching a community order.

The community order for six months probation supervision was imposed on April 17 after Walker pleaded guilty to stealing £5.65 worth of lager, however she failed to keep probation appointments.

The theft was a breach of a conditional discharge imposed by the court earlier in the year.

John Hughes mitigating for Walker, of Torville Road, Ipswich, said the 29-year-old was convicted of soliciting in March and the Crown Prosecution Service set down a date for a criminal anti-social behaviour order to be made on June 11.

Mr Hughes said: “The weekend before that she had been in a relationship and she was physically thrown out of the property where she was living with her boyfriend. She was in a very distressed state and she did not come to court because of that.”

He said an ASBO was made on that date to prevent her soliciting and Walker had not breached that order.

Mr Hughes said Walker had also addressed her drug addiction and was now on medication.

He said she had not turned up at court on July 10 because her telephone and bicycle had been stolen and her clothes had been burned by another former prostitute.

He added: “She has been in custody since Friday night. She has limited convictions so if she was sentenced to seven days in prison for the theft then she could be released today.”

Magistrates revoked all previous orders and sentenced Walker to a week in prison which the court deemed as served.