A vicious daughter repeatedly kicked and punched her mum's head for so long during a terrifying ordeal she was forced to pause for breath.

Howa Ramadam, 36, brutally knocked her mother to the floor inside her Margate home before raining blows for what felt like "10 - 15 minutes".

Such was the duration of the beating, Ramadam, whose behaviour was described as "like an animal", even took a rest before continuing the abuse.

A sentencing hearing at Canterbury Crown Court heard on Wednesday Ramadam, of Ramsgate, woke Susan McDermott at 4am by repeatedly booting her door.

When the 66-year-old let her in, Ramadam, who sought money for drugs, hurled and smashed up household items, before her actions turned more sinister.

Prosecutor Peter Forbes described how, when Ramadam went to the kitchen for a cigarette, Ms McDermott was able to sneak upstairs to phone the police.

But describing the chilling moment Ramadam confronted her shortly after, Mr Forbes said: "She punched her mother to the side of the head, grabbing her hair, causing her to fall."

After kicking and punching her head "multiple times", Ramadam had to "take a break to catch her breath," the lawyer said.

Ms McDermott, the court was told, felt like she "was being attacked for 10 - 15 minutes", when Ramadam terrifyingly told her "I'm going to kill you tonight".

Having suffered bruising and swelling to her face, Ramadam's brave mum would later tell officers her daughter was in a "drug fueled rage" and "behaving like an animal".

Following the beating on that fateful morning last October, Ramadam stole her mum's iPhone and left the property - but soon returned shouting and swearing.

When police swooped on the house and placed Ramadam in handcuffs she spat in PC Saint's face, sunk her teeth into his finger, drawing blood, and urinated on him.

After being held on remand at HMP Bronzefield, Ramadam, of Waterloo Place, admitted her actions during a pre-trial preparation hearing at the same court in January.

She pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assaulting an emergency worker, theft of the iPhone and criminal damage of the household items, their value unknown.

Kerry Waite, defending, stressed his client had battled mental health problems and addiction for a significant amount of time, during which she has been diagnosed with unstable personality disorder.

He argued her 94 days on remand had proven a "salutary lesson to her", and pointed to a recent medical assessment, whereby she was diagnosed with "a number of psychiatric disorders".

“As a coping mechanism she self medicates with alcohol and other intoxicants," he added.

“That is a consequence of her underlying difficulties - this particular incident occured after a significant event in her life.”

Were Ramadam to be released, the lawyer argued, she would immediately be passed into the care of Avondale in Westgate-on-Sea, a home which supports people with mental health needs.

But handing down three years in prison, Judge Simon James stressed her 22 previous convictions, 16 of which for assaulting police officers, demonstrated she "simply does not have the capacity for rehabilitation".

"Indeed such is the regularity of your offending it is impossible to reach any conclusion other than you are an individual who poses a significant risk of causing serious harm to others," he said.

"You have a history of binge drinking and drug abuse, which almost certainly exacerbates your underlying emotional unstable personality disorder.

"The combination of that disorder with anxiety, PTSD and your abuse of alcohol and drugs means you have demonstrated a clear and consistent pattern of impulsivity and violence.

"Although it is possible for some of your mental health conditions to be managed with medication, your persistent offending shows that there is, in reality, very little grounds for optimism that you will suddenly start to comply with treatment and stop committing further offences.

"Under the influence of drugs you attacked your own mother. It was a persistent and prolonged assault perpetrated against an elderly woman in her own home, after you had forced entry in the middle of the night.

" In addition, you fall to be sentenced for assaulting an emergency worker, an offence which represents your sixteenth conviction for assaulting a police officer.

"An assault which this time involved you deliberately spitting into an officer's face, biting his finger and urinating on him.

"The offence is aggravated by the fact that, at the time, you were subject to a community order for previous assaults on police officers."

Ramadam, who appeared from HMP Bronzefield by videolink, was also handed a five year restraining order.