Police officer headbutted by man found hiding under bed in Telford

Derek Roy Thomas was found hiding between a mattress and his bed when officers came to his house, but as officers handcuffed him and took him downstairs he assaulted one of them.

Thomas, 39, of King Street in Dawley, Telford, was found guilty of assaulting a police officer at a trial at Telford Magistrates Court and was ordered to pay compensation to the officer.

Mrs Kate Price, prosecuting, said police had gone to Thomas's home after an incident on December 10 when plain-clothed officers in an unmarked police car on patrol in Leegomery had spotted the defendant getting into the driver's seat of a Renault Laguna.

Mrs Price said that one officer, wearing a black stab vest with a radio attached and identifying himself as police, had approached the car, but the defendant revved the engine and sped off. The officer said he had identified the defendant who was already known to police.

Mrs Price said the day after the incident, police had gone to the home of the defendant and had grabbed him by the foot when they found him hiding under a mattress. As they brought him down the stairs he was aggressive and swearing and then leaned in and headbutted an officer, injuring his face,she said.

Mr Shakeel Ahmed, for Thomas, said the defendant continued to deny that he had been driving the car and that it was a case of mistaken identity. He said Thomas had rheumatoid arthritis and the handcuffing had caused him pain. He said as Thomas was being led down the stairs he had moved position and had accidentally headbutted the officer.

He added that his client had never denied that his head had made contact with the officer but had denied it was an assault.

Thomas was also found guilty of driving a vehicle other than in accordance with a licence, failing to stop when required by a police officer and driving without insurance or MoT. He was acquitted of driving without due care and attention.

Magistrate Alan Boyd said of the assault that "such behaviour is completely unacceptable".

He told Thomas that his sentence was "very much your last chance".

Thomas was ordered to pay £100 compensation to the officer. He was given a 12-month community order with 12 months supervision and 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was also fined £165 for driving with no insurance and given eight points on his licence. There were no separate penalties for the other driving matters.