The teenage daughter of Sussex Chief Constable Paul Whitehouse was today given an 18-month conditional discharge for arming herself with a pickaxe handle.

Frances Whitehouse, 19, was convicted of possessing an offensive weapon last month.

During a two-day trial, the court heard Whitehouse, who had been drinking, had claimed her boyfriend had beaten her up. And she accused police officers who had attended the incident of not helping her.

She stormed out of the flat she shared with her labourer boyfriend of 18 months, Lloyd Smith, in St Aubyns, Hove, before returning and taking a 3ft pickaxe handle back out with her.

Sentencing her at Canterbury Crown Court today, Judge Anthony Webb warned Whitehouse, who lives with her father and solicitor mother, Elizabeth, to behave herself and keep out of trouble.

He said: "There appears to be a certain attitude that she adopts when she comes into contact with the police."

The judge told Whitehouse: "If you commit any further offences within the next 18 months you are liable to be brought back before this court.

"I accept there was an incident and that you were the victim of domestic violence.

"Police attended but you made their task no easier by reason of your intoxication."

The officers had left and returned later to try and assist her. By that time, Whitehouse had gone out and when she returned, had armed herself with the pickaxe handle and "expressed the intention of using it to sort out your boyfriend.

"Fortunately, you dropped it before you got very far down the road."

Defence counsel Julia Krish said Whitehouse had only been in possession of the pickaxe handle for a matter of seconds.

"At no stage did she make any use of it and at no stage did she threaten either her boyfriend or the police officers."

Whitehouse, she said, had a supportive family. One of the difficulties for her has been the considerable amount of publicity.