Katie Price in court: 'the day the circus came to Lewes'

In the end, she left as she arrived – through the front door of Lewes Crown Court with around 100 cameras recording her every move.

As media circuses go, it was as colourful as it was entertaining, an auspicious, fractious and unusual start to what can often be austere legal proceedings.

Arriving shortly after 9am to face sentencing for breaching a restraining order, the former glamour model had told a reporter to “suck my d***”. 

And once inside the courtroom the onslaught against the media continued, leading the assembled press pack to contemplate who was actually in the dock.

Elizabeth Cobb, prosecuting, told the court how the 44-year-old sent Kieran Hayler, an ex husband, a message on January 21 this year in which she branded his new partner, Michelle Penticost, a “c***ing w****” and a “gutter slag”. 

A victim impact statement from Ms Penticost was read to the court: “The impact of what Katie has done was upsetting.

"What has been written in the media has had an impact on my mental health. I feel like it was an attack on me. By having a restraining order I thought I would be safe."

Then it was the turn of mild-mannered defence barrister Nicholas Hamblin – a highly experienced and skillful advocate - to try and set the record straight.

“From the age of 17 Katie Price has lived her life in the public eye,” he told the court.

“People have good days and bad days. Whatever she is doing, however, even if it is a menial task, there is always somebody there, attempting to put a spin on it.”

For the avoidance of any doubt, Katie Price has been in the public eye since the age of 17

He told the court there was “a great deal of good” that can be said about Price, despite our media-obsessed society that enjoyed “building people up and knocking them down”.

As sentencing approached, Price – dressed head to manicured toe in eye-catching pea-soup green – looked pensive, and at times openly glared at reporters on the press bench.

• READ MORE: Recap - Katie Price to appear in court for sentencing

Price had been told she was “at risk of prison” and warned that she could be “facing jail”. 

However, His Honour Judge Stephen Mooney was not going to be the one to send her down.

He told Price: “In my judgment this offence was committed out of anger in response to an Instagram post which you believe had been posted with the intention that you would see it.

“The message that you sent was highly offensive and inflammatory and so the breach cannot be said to be minor and there is no question of any reasonable excuse.”

Then Price was let go with 170 hours of unpaid work and costs to the creaking criminal justice system of £1,500.

Outside the building the carnival continued, with several teenage schoolchildren and bemused mid-day shoppers with smartphones joining the assembled paparazzi on the pavement outside, all desperate for one final photo opportunity.

To add to the atmosphere, there were even a few blasts of the horn from passing motorists, although no-one could be sure whether that was in support of Price or because the ever-growing media horde had edged into the road.

“Anything you want to say, Katie?”, shouted several reporters. She glared at them and shook her head, as they grabbed their cameras and chased the mother-of-five out of Lewes.

And then she was gone.

The circus hasn’t fully left Sussex yet, though; the former glamour model is back at Crawley magistrates’ court next month to face a speeding charge.

Roll up, roll up!