X FACTOR finalist Rachel Hylton's fall from grace was compounded last week when the former drug addict found herself in front of magistrates for causing chaos at a court case in Harrow.

A year-and-a-half ago more than 10 million viewers were tuning in to the televised music contest to watch the 28-year-old perform.

But there was less interest in her when she appeared in an empty courtroom at Harrow Magistrates' Court last Thursday and pleaded guilty for foul and abusive language and criminal damage.

The mother of five, who was once music mogul Simon Cowell's tip to win the show, landed herself in hot water after she flew into a rage at Harrow Crown Court on February 19, where she had shown up to witness a case.

Upset at a decision during the case, Ms Hylton stormed out of the court, swearing and shouting abuse.

As a result she was hauled in front of magistrates on Thursday last week and pleaded guilty to one offence of criminal damage and one of public disorder.

She was ordered to pay compensation of £500 and was handed a three-year conditional discharge - meaning she could find herself in greater trouble if she commits another offence during that period.

It is not the first time Hylton has had a run-in with the law; she has spent time in jail in the past.

During her time on X Factor, it was well documented that she developed a drug habit after giving birth to her first child when she was just 13.

In 2000 she appeared at a London court for attacking a woman in the street and was given 60 hours' community service and 18 months' probation.

Four months later, she burgled a house in Hackney, east London, to get money for drugs and was jailed for 18 months.

Ms Hylton, who lived in Stanmore throughout the series of X Factor, in which she finished sixth behind pop sensations Alexandra Burke and JLS, also revealed during her brief stint in the limelight that three of her five children had been taken into care and she is not allowed to see them.

She now lives with her two youngest children in Northolt Road, South Harrow, and because of obligations to the contract she signed to perform on The X Factor Tour, it is still unknown whether she has a record deal.