A SHOPKEEPER who attacked a bailiff when she came to collect business rates has appeared in court.

Sarah Larking, 34, who runs the Kyi-Po vegetarian food and alcohol drink shop in Goodramgate, had difficulty meeting her payments because of the recession and poor takings, said her solicitor, John Howard.

She had about £2,500 outstanding, but had paid £1,000 to City of York Council a week before bailiff Catherine Fletcher arrived, and had an arrangement with the council under which she paid £200 a week.

So Larking was surprised and annoyed when the bailiff arrived at her shop and began preparations to remove stock. She tried to get the bailiff out of the shop.

Cathy Turnbull, for the Crown Prosecution Service, showed York magistrates CCTV film from the shop in which Larking pushed and shoved Ms Fletcher. Larking, of Wyre Court, The Village, Haxby, pleaded guilty to assault and criminal damage to the bailiff’s company phone.

Magistrates fined her £100 and ordered her to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a Government-imposed victim surcharge of £15. They declined to make an order for compensation after Miss Turnbull said Larking had paid the bailiff’s company £200 for the damage to the phone and they heard that Ms Fletcher was not injured in the confrontation.

A council spokeswoman said officers had set up a special arrangement with Larking after she had appeared in court in October for non-payment. Under it she had to make regular payments.

The spokeswoman could not comment on what the payments were.

The council’s policy was that as long as payments under special arrangements were up to date, bailiffs were not employed, but when payments fell behind, then bailiffs were used.

Normal practice was to send warning letters to business-tax defaulters a couple of weeks before the debt was passed to bailiffs.

This gave businesses a chance to get their payments up to date, and the council could then cancel the bailiffs’ instructions.