A tourist guide was close to tears as she protested her innocence after being charged with slightly injuring a policeman, blaming him for the incident.

Nadine Fenech, 48, from Marsa, stood in the dock yesterday clutching a batch of photos and papers she said proved she was not at fault. She told Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona she did not want a lawyer and preferred to represent herself.

The incident revolves around a parking dispute when she was allegedly blocked in by a policeman.

If the courts moved as quickly as you do, then cases would be concluded in no time at all

On a number of instances during the arraignment sitting, she insisted she was innocent, with the magistrate instructing her to pipe down as everything had to be done according to procedure. “If the courts moved as quickly as you do, then cases would be concluded in no time at all,” he said.

She told him: “Is it right for a policeman to break the law? He blocked me in.” At one point, her interruptions proved too much and the magistrate warned her he would find her in contempt of court if she persisted.

She pleaded not guilty to slightly injuring Police Constable Kevin Decelis on Wednesday afternoon in Sliema, violently resisting arrest, damaging a car, breaching the peace and refusing to obey police orders.

Ms Fenech said she would be going on holiday with her parents next week and would not want to disrupt anything because she had paid a lot of money.

The magistrate told her not to worry as he granted her bail, allowing her to travel.

She was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €500.