A man spat at a female police officer while being arrested after shouting through a neighbour’s letter box.

Darren Philip Cash, 45, shouted abuse at officers who were called to a house near his home on Devon Close, Macclesfield Magistrates Court heard. Officers were called at 11pm and he had been drinking beer and sambuca since 2.30pm.

PC Stevens went inside the address and PC Weir waited outside with the defendant.

She saw he had a bag containing games consoles and arrested him on suspicion of having stolen goods, however the items were later found to be his property.

He refused to be handcuffed and she called for assistance from PC Stevens and other officers but during the scuffle Cash spat at PC Stevens.

Read more:

Read more:

Prosecuting, Simon Pover, said: “PC Weir searched him for stolen property but the defendant became abusive and was arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

“He resisted arrest and at one point grabbed the windscreen wiper on the police car. PC Stevens and other officers restrained him on the floor and he spat in PC Stevens’s face.

“He continued to abuse the officers and was extremely disorderly.”

Cash pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly, resisting police officers in their duty and assaulting PC Stevens on February 29. The court heard he has a long history of offending but defending Julian Farley said he has been kept out of trouble in recent years.

He said: “He apologises for his behaviour particularly towards PC Stevens. When police arrived they started accusing him of having stolen property. His experience of police over the last few years is that on numerous occasions he’s been stopped on his way home from work to be searched because police thought he had been stealing. They approached his employer and he lost his job so he’s touchy about police searching him when he’s trying to turn his life around.”

Magistrates handed Cash a 12 month community order with 20 day rehabilitation requirement and curfew from 7pm to 7am. He must pay £100 compensation to PC Stevens, £85 costs and £60 victim surcharge.

Chairman of the bench Helen Jarman said: “We have taken into account the length of time of the verbal abuse, the fact you had drunk alcohol and particularly the assault of PC Stevens in her duty.”