A WOMAN has been charged after police officers said they were spat at by a driver who was stopped.

Tracey Coles has been charged with driving a motor vehicle with an alcohol level above the limit and assault by beating an emergency worker.

Police made an arrest after spotting the Renault Megane on the A270 Old Shoreham Road in Shoreham with both front tyres blown on Friday at 11:56pm. Police said they were spat at after stopping the vehicle.

The 46-year-old, of Kingsland Close in Shoreham, who is unemployed, has been bailed and is set to appear at Brighton Magistrates' Court on August 5.

The arrest of the woman was part of Operation Dragonfly, a crackdown on drink and drug drivers in Sussex and Surrey.

Road policing officers are on dedicated patrols looking for people that break traffic laws.

Last year, the maximum sentence for people convicted of assaulting emergency workers - such as the police - was doubled.

The Argus: Police pulled the car over after noticing the front tyres were flatPolice pulled the car over after noticing the front tyres were flat

The new sentencing laws have increased the maximum penalty for violent attacks to two years.

This applies to attacks on police, prison and custody officers, ambulance staff, NHS workers, rescuers and firefighters.