One of Carlisle’s most notorious yobs aimed a chilling tirade of abuse at a courtroom lawyer, telling her: “I’ll rip your throat out.”

Andrew Bell, 39, who was before magistrates in Carlisle for being drunk and disorderly and flouting his anti-social behaviour order, turned nasty as security officers were taking him to the cells.

He had just admitted two breaches of his Asbo, being drunk and disorderly, and making a dozen nuisance 999 calls.

As he was being led from the dock of the city’s Rickergate magistrates court complex, Bell turned towards senior crown prosecutor Pamela Fee and yelled a series of sickening insults and threats at her.

Shocked court staff could do nothing to stop him. Magistrates ordered Bell be brought back into the dock where he apologised – but laughed after doing so.

Earlier, Miss Fee told the court that Bell had gone to Court Square outside the city’s railway station shortly before 10am on January 25, and used the public phone there to make a 999 call.

When asked what the emergency was he verbally abused the call-handler, adding that he had a razor blade and threatening to cut his own throat.

Police arrived at the payphone where they found Bell drunk. He had no razor blade and there was no evidence he had harmed himself.

He had flouted his Asbo by being in the phone box and in the area – which he is banned from.

When police arrived at Court Square and arrested him, Bell was in the process of making his 13th nuisance call of the day.

Later that day, said Miss Fee, Bell was refused entry to the Outrageous bar in Carlisle city centre because he was so drunk and “inappropriately dressed”.

He verbally abused both door staff and customers.

Once again he was in an area that he is banned from under the terms of his Asbo and police arrested him. In court, defence solicitor Paul Tweddle suggested that the stress of being remanded in custody may have affected Bell.

Ruling that his behaviour had been a contempt of court, magistrates jailed Bell for two weeks, saying that his behaviour in the dock had suggested he had not been sincere about his apology.

Bell has made repeated appearances in court over the last decade and was once dubbed Carlisle’s “Number One Nuisance”.

In September of last year, Bell was again in court after he was prosecuted for telling a woman police officer in Lonsdale Street, Carlisle that he would slit her throat, rape her and kill her husband. Bell’s defence lawyer in court on that occasion, John Smith, admitted his client’s behaviour had been reprehensible.

Police officers had tried to help the defendant, contacting the charity Turning Point in Workington on his behalf.

On that occasion, District Judge Gerald Chalk jailed Bell for 35 days, commenting that he had aimed his abuse at somebody who – like the prosecutor Miss Fee – had simply been providing a public service.

On that occasion, as he was being led away to start his sentence, Bell uttered what appeared to be a threat at the judge, telling him: “I’ll be waiting for you when I get out.”

For Bell’s January 25 offences, magistrates sent him to Carlisle Crown Court where he will be sentenced by a circuit judge.