A MAN has been jailed for three years after a PCSO was hit by a garden ornament thrown through a police station window.

Troy Craig Park, 27, from Eastfield, near Scarborough, and formerly of East Knapton, near Malton, was found guilty by jury on Thursday, November 24 of assault and criminal damage.

On the night of Sunday, August 15 two Police Community Support Officers were patrolling the Eastfield area and encountered Park who was in an agitated state and was verbally abusive towards them.

A short time later, they returned to Eastfield police station and were working in the office when a concrete garden ornament was thrown through the ground floor window, which bounced off a desk into the face of one of the PCSOs, breaking her glasses and causing bruising and numerous cuts to her face, neck, chest, jaw and ribs.

Park was arrested four days later and subsequently charged with assault causing actual bodily harm and criminal damage.

He pleaded not guilty to the offence but was found guilty following a three-day trial at York Crown Court where he was sentenced to three years in prison and a further eight months for an unrelated assault.

Inspector Andy Short said: “The sentence handed out to Mr Park demonstrates how seriously the criminal justice system views deliberate violence against the police service and sends a clear message that assaulting those tasked with keeping the public safe will not be tolerated."