A woman obsessed with police officers served the equivalent of a six-month prison sentence before being diagnosed with a mild form of autism.

Victoria Cartmel was jailed last month after repeatedly breaching a restraining order preventing her from hanging around outside police stations.

She was released last week after magistrates heard she had Asperger’s syndrome.

They said her case was a medical situation rather than a criminal one.

Her solicitors ordered the assessment after attending a training course on Asperger’s and recognising her symptoms.

The court was told Cartmel, aged 23, had repeatedly loitered by police stations in Worcester, Droitwich and Kidderminster.

She was prevented from doing so by a restraining order made in 2009 after she pestered officers, made prank 999 calls and damaged a car.

At Worcester Magistrates Court, she admitted breaching the order four times and harassing police officers and staff.

Matt Dodson, prosecuting, said Cartmel, of Berrill Close, Droitwich, was seen outside the police post in Cranham Drive, Warndon, and loitering in Infirmary Walk, Worcester, in June.

The court was told that doing so harassed PC Wayne Hurley, CSO Alan Dodkin, PC Natalie Schwarz, Tamsin Tedham, PC Richard Harris and PC Paul Slaymaker, causing them to fear she would damage property.

Mr Dodson said: “She couldn’t explain why she was at the location, she said she didn’t have a fixation with police or police uniform and did not hate the police.”

In August and September she was seen near Droitwich police station at Nine Foot Way and a month later was spotted on CCTV walking along Love’s Grove, near Worcester police station.

In November, Cartmel was arrested in the car park of Kidderminster police station, where she was with Rosen Sandov, a man police believe was a bad influence and who her bail conditions prevented her from meeting.

She was refused bail on November 4 while she awaited sentencing.

Gary Harper, defending, said she had spent the equivalent of 11 weeks in custody – including seven weeks in physical custody and time served by being electronically tagged.

“It means she has served very close to a six-month custodial sentence.”

He told magistrates that Asperger’s sufferers were unable to think through consequences, lacked social skills and they could become obsessed with uniformed people.

He said: “A large majority of the symptoms apply to Miss Cartmel.

“These offences have been committed because she has medical problems.

“Had we known that at the time we would have opposed the restraining order.”

Cartmel was sentenced to a community order with supervision for 12 months.

A suspended sentence she was given previously was made more onerous with four extra appointments.

The restraining order remains in place until May 2011.