A STUDENT police officer was left wondering if she had chosen the right job after she was racially abused in Chester.

Tracey Wells, 58, now of St Michaels Road, Portsmouth, pleaded guilty to racially abusing the police officer at the Countess of Chester Hospital on August 8.

Wells, who is currently subject to a suspended sentence, received a fine at Chester Magistrates Court on Friday, November 24.

Prosecuting, Scott Woodward said police had responded to a report of a missing person at 4.30pm on August 8, with Wells located in Ellesmere Port.

Wells was arrested for a separate matter but was so intoxicated she was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital, where after 90 minutes she was appearing increasingly intoxicated.

A police officer left to take a call and that left Wells with the student officer.

The court heard Wells kept demanding her bag and then called the officer a "Polish b****", before calling her a "Polish nutcase", along with a remark along the lines of 'why had she come to this country'.

The student officer had been operational on the force for 13 weeks, Mr Woodward said, and the remarks "had really upset her" and "made her question whether she had made the right decision to become a police officer".

The officer accepted police officers received abuse in general, but "found this abuse particularly hurtful". She added she was not Polish, but was from Eastern Europe.

Wells had one relevant conviction for racially aggravated abuse from 2010.

Defending, Steven Alis said while Wells did not agree with everything that she was alleged to have said, she accepted what she had done was wrong, and would not have made the comments when sober.

A report from probation heard it was "so far, so good" for Wells on her suspended sentence and her alcohol treatment programme.

The two-year suspended sentence had been imposed after Wells was guilty of arson, in an incident where she had tried to take her own life.

The court heard Wells "was clearly going through a bad time with her mental health issues", but had made a good start on her rehabilitation.

Chair of magistrates Jeffrey Dodd said the abuse was an "obviously nasty situation", but noted Wells had made "good progress with the order".

Wells was fined £300 and ordered to pay £150 compensation to the officer.