A woman who beat up two men as they looked through a bag of clothes left outside a charity shop has been jailed for six months.

Samantha Pollard, 25, launched an unprovoked attack on disabled Stephen Hughes and his friend Andrew Pledge outside the Mind shop in St James's Street, Brighton, Lewes Crown Court heard.

The prosecution said the attack left Mr Pledge needing three stitches while multiple sclerosis sufferer Mr Hughes had a tooth knocked out.

Pollard, of Freshfield Road, Kemp Town, admitted assaulting the pair and smashing the window of the nearby Age Concern charity shop.

Neil Mercer, prosecuting, said the two men had gone to Brighton beach to collect mussels and looked in the bags as they returned home when Pollard attacked them with a stick.

The court heard Pollard had admitted the charges on the basis that she had never used the stick as a weapon.

However, she conceded she had kicked both men while they were on the ground.

Pollard was also in breach of a conditional discharge imposed after she broke a window pane after drinking on Millennium Eve.

Abdulah Al-Yunusi, defending, said Pollard suffered from a medical problem which required her to take steroids and complications associated with the condition caused her "gender difficulties".

He said: "She does express sincere regret and remorse.

"She had been out and consumed a large amount of alcohol and it is partly because of that, that she committed these offences."

Jailing her, Judge Richard Brown said: "The public are entitled to walk the streets without being attacked by drunken and aggressive people like yourself."