A SOUTHAMPTON mother who drunkenly bombarded police with hundreds of nuisance calls has been given a final chance to change her ways.

Louise Hathaway repeatedly called operators to talk about favourite meals, personal issues and even to propose marriage over a nine-year period, a court heard.

She is now on her last warning before a jail term, a district judge has said.

Hathaway, 43, of Terminus Terrace, appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court for breaching a criminal behaviour order.

She was spared jail last year after admitting to making 132 calls to the emergency line over the course of a month.

In May 2011, she was also spared a prison sentence after admitting to making 76 calls to 999 within less than five hours in the early hours of the morning.

The court was told that Hathaway's calls included hurling abuse, marriage proposals and discussions of her private life.

At her latest hearing the court was told how the 43-year-old made a further 10 calls to police between July 2 and July 5 – breaching an order made on June 22.

Prosecutor Sital Mond told the court: “She appeared to be drunk and she wasn’t recording an emergency.”

In mitigation for Hathaway, solicitor Gaylene Coles said she had worked hard to turn her life around, but had become troubled and “fallen off the wagon” around the time of the calls.

She said: “Ten calls is a lot of calls but in comparison with the hundreds of calls she was previously making she has made a lot of progress. When this lady doesn’t drink there’s no issues with calling.”

The court also heard how Hathaway has struggled with mental health problems and is undergoing a course to help her with life skills.

District judge Anthony Calloway sentenced her to a two-year conditional discharge and said: “How many times do we have to have this discussion? Next time, drink or no drink you will go in. You leave the police alone, they don’t want to be bothered with you. Consider yourself very lucky.”

As previously reported the mental illness was triggered after she was assaulted while on holiday in 1997.

Until then she had a promising future having qualified as a nurse but following the attack she suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and as a result began drinking.

It was due to her drinking that her offending began, the court was told.