Woman Convicted of Hitting Blair

.c The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) - A woman who threw a tomato at Prime Minister Tony Blair to protest British support for sanctions against Iraq was convicted of disorderly conduct on Tuesday.

Lynn Marie Coles, 26, of Eastville, near Bristol, admitted throwing the tomato at Blair in January when he visited City of Bristol College. She denied a charge of intentionally causing alarm or distress.

She was given a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £75 in costs. A stain on the shoulder of Blair's jacket was the only apparent damage from the attack.

Protesters also threw oranges and other fruit, but only the tomato hit the prime minister.

``I don't know what came over me,'' Coles said in court.

She said she grabbed a bag of tomatoes from another protester ``because I thought I was a better shot.''

Prosecutor Sarah Regan said Coles apologized for the attack and admitted it had been ``somewhat misguided.''

But arresting officer Roger Curry said Coles appeared happy to be apprehended.

``She was shouting `Got him with veg, got him with a tomato,''' he said.

Personally I think it's quite salutory for our great and good leaders to get a dose of public opinion via vegetable comment. Please fell free to pen some lyrics.

I can't offer any Golden Cow Chips as these are all held in stock with the Gaelic Goddess. So this one's just for fun.

Hyper.