A 40-year-old woman in the UK has been found guilty of aggravated racial harassment after insulting hotel staff during an incident in Cheshire.Cait O’Halloran, an Irish citizen living in Littlehampton, West Sussex, admitted the offense at Warrington Magistrates’ Court. She was fined £614 and ordered to pay £331 in costs and surcharges.The court heard the incident took place at a Holiday Inn in Runcorn on January 17 after a drunken woman reportedly behaved aggressively towards staff and was subsequently reported to police.Prosecutor Umer Zeb told the court O’Halloran became abusive when he asked for a replacement key card at reception.“The Holiday Inn Runcorn received a 999 report of a drunk female being verbally abusive to staff. It was anti-English abuse,” he said.He added that during the exchange she made comments including: “He is a living creature” and “All British people deserve to die”.According to prosecutors, O’Halloran later returned to the reception area and further abused staff.“She started insulting them, saying they ‘should burn in hell’ and ‘all British people should burn in hell’,” Zerb said. “She told two employees, ‘Go to hell’.”The court was told O’Halloran had no previous convictions.Her lawyer Peter Green said the incident was out of character and related to drinking.“This is completely out of character for her. She has no previous convictions against her,” he said.“Clearly alcohol played a role in the crime. Miss O’Halloran’s memory is somewhat hazy. She is ashamed of her actions.”During sentencing, District Judge Paula Jones acknowledged her guilty plea and remorse.She said: “It’s clear that you acknowledge your remorse, which makes a big difference in these cases, and you accept responsibility for this offence.”After the hearing, O’Halloran was told the conviction would become part of her criminal record.Official figures show that police recorded around 98,000 race-related hate crimes in England and Wales in the year to March 2025, with a large proportion involving white victims.
