A man who spat at police officers claiming he had coronavirus has been jailed for a year.
Callum Heaton, 23, spat at a pair of officers who had arrested him for being drunk and disorderly in the early hours of Saturday, March 28.
He claimed he had COVID-19.
Heaton was arrested after police were called to a disturbance in Burnley, Lancashire.
During the arrest, he spat at the officers and continued to spit at them while he was taken into custody.
At Burnley Magistrates’ Court on Monday, March 30, he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault on an emergency worker and one of criminal damage.
A spokesperson for Lancashire Constabulary said: “This was a particularly offensive and dangerous offence at this particular time spitting at officers.
“It is totally unacceptable that police and other front line workers who are doing their best to keep our communities safe are treated like this.
"It is good to see that the court are taking these type of incidents seriously.”
The incident comes after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) warned anyone who 'coronavirus coughs' at someone could be sent to prison on assault charges.
