A VIOLENT woman, who fled court before she could be jailed for assaulting her former partner, is today serving her sentence after handing herself in.

Sammi-Jo Bateman, 25, did a runner from the courtroom, at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court, while the magistrates were out considering their sentence on her last week.

Bateman had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to assaulting Ryan Couborough by beating, in what was described as a "sustained attack" and a "violent altercation."

She was brought back before the court today after phoning police to hand herself in.

The magistrates activated the four-month prison sentence which had been imposed in her absence, but did not punish her under the Bail Act because she had surrendered herself to custody.

Bateman, of Woolcombers Way, Tyersal, Bradford, had appeared at the court last Thursday to be sentenced.

Prosecutor Ben Crosland told how she had punched Mr Couborough at least seven times and kicked him repeatedly to the body during the attack at the car park of Bowling swimming pool, on July 20 this year. The leisure centre manager phoned the police, who arrested Bateman at the scene.

Her solicitor, Kevin Walker, told the court that Mr Couborough had "sought a confrontation" and the assault had "looked worse on paper than it was."

Bateman fled the court building, with friends who had been in the public gallery with her, after the magistrates retired to consider their sentence and security staff went into the courtroom.

When the magistrates returned they were told by court staff that Bateman had left the building.

Chairman of the Bench, Gamil Haddad, announced a four-month prison sentence, and issued a warrant for Bateman's arrest which was "not backed by bail in any circumstances."

Police appealed for help to trace Bateman - who appeared to use social media to boast about evading arrest. A Facebook profile in her name linked to a story in the Telegraph & Argus about her escape, next to three smiling faces and the words "my bad." A posting under the name 'Sammijo Bateman new' said: "Game on catch me if you can am the ginger bread man."

Today a West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed Bateman had been arrested yesterday morning from an address in Tyersal Lane, Tyersal, after she called police at 12.50am.

* Bateman was jailed for six months at Bradford Crown Court in January for contempt of court after hurling a plastic bottle at a judge.

Judge David Hatton QC was imposing a suspended prison sentence on Bateman's friend, 20-year-old Molly Moulden, following an incident of serious violent disorder in Bradford city centre, when Bateman launched the bottle of drink. It whistled past the judge, cannoned into the wall behind him and ricocheted to the floor. The missile was accompanied by a volley of verbal abuse.