A racist mother has been jailed after she covered a neighbour with a mixture of flour and water and told her: "You are now white British."

Kellie Wells had carried out a campaign of harassment and abuse against her former friend Pamela Bower.

It culminated with her climbing a fence between their homes in Hollingbourne Road, Gillingham, and hurling the mixture at her amid laughter.

Wells admitted racially aggravated harassment, but denied the flour incident happened.

The 42-year-old mother-of-four was sentenced to 33 weeks' imprisonment and made the subject of a restraining order for 10 years.

Recorder Gordon Reed said of Wells' behaviour: "It was humiliating and highly offensive. In my judgement this is at the high end of the scale."

Maidstone Crown Court heard the victim - a black African - had lived in the UK for 15 years and was a British citizen.

"Take your welly boots and go back to your own country" - Kellie Wells to neighbour Pamela Bower

Until the death of her husband she and Wells were good friends. Wells continued to visit Ms Bower's home to get wine because she knew her late husband had a large supply in the cellar.

Prosecutor Andrew Forsyth said the friendship "calmed down" and matters came to a head.

Ms Bower erected a fence across the boundary between the two houses.

In May last year, Wells made racist comments over the fence, calling the victim "a black gorilla" and telling her: "Take your welly boots and go back to your own country".

On July 15 last year, Ms Bower was in her garden when Wells and a friend climbed up the fence and threw the solution from an ice cream container.

Ms Bower was on the phone to her sister in South Africa at the time. She went inside and had a shower to remove the solution.

Mr Forsyth said nine days later, Wells hurled more racist abuse and threatened to burn down the fence and Ms Bower's house.

Mimicking an Indian accent, she again told her to go back to her own country.

Mr Forsyth said Wells, who was bailed to live in Adelaide Road, Gillingham, had 19 convictions for 27 offences, mainly for shoplifting.

She failed to comply with community orders on a number of occasions and was in breach of a suspended sentence for battery involving an attack on a taxi driver.

"This was appalling conduct. One cannot overstate the seriousness of it. It simply cannot be tolerated..." - Recorder Gordon Reed

When arrested, she said her name was Florence Nightingale. Wells was banned from going to Hollingbourne Road for three years.

Recorder Reed said Wells thought it was funny when she threw the flour and water mixture over the victim.

"Your conduct has a number of aggravating features," he said. "She was in her own home - the one place she was entitled above all else to feel comfortable and secure.

"It led to the point where she was scared to go home and she was feeling constantly stressed. She didn't feel she could go into her own garden.

"There is little evidence you show remorse. Overall, this was appalling conduct. One cannot overstate the seriousness of it. It simply cannot be tolerated."

The judge added he would take an exceptional course and make the 28-day suspended sentence she had breached concurrent instead of consecutive.

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