A MAN attacked two police officers in separate incidents on the same evening after a heavy intake of vodka.

Alan Hill was said to have been “in a huff” when his partner chose to celebrate her birthday with friends in Consett while he stayed at home to watch football.

Durham Crown Court, sitting at Newcastle, was told he sent her increasingly angry messages, threatening to cause damage and self harm.

Jonathan Harley, prosecuting, said when Hill claimed he would put his head through a window and cut his throat, his partner informed police.

Officers arrived at 7.15pm to find he had smashed a bedroom window at her home with a piece from a vacuum cleaner, and attempted to arrest him.

But Hill swung punches at the officer who tried to handcuff him, striking him on the right shoulder.

He was detained after being pepper sprayed, but he passed out and so was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham in Durham.

Mr Harley said Hill came round at the hospital and was abusive, leaping from his bed, grabbing an officer, knocking him to the ground, causing him to collide with a wash basin, which was detached from the wall due to the force.

He took the officer by the throat, but he managed to break free and, helped by hospital staff, Hill was restrained and placed in handcuffs.

The officer had to be treated at the hospital for an injury to his ribs, soreness to the ribs and a cut to the head.

In a victim statement the 53-year-old officer said the incident, on February 5, had hit his confidence and for some time he felt unable to return to front line duties.

The 32-year-old defendant, of Derby Drive, Moorside, Consett, admitted two counts each of causing criminal damage and assaulting an emergency worker.

His previous 52 offences include convictions for violence and attacks on police.

Rachel Hedworth, mitigating, told the court: “Can I, on his behalf, express his complete and utter remorse for his behaviour which he accepts was completely disgusting that evening.”

Miss Hedworth said Hill had begun to address his heavy drinking, but relapsed after the death of his much-loved maternal grandmother, in November.

She told the court that Hill “completely flipped” when one of the officers appeared to disbelieve him about his grandmother’s death.

Miss Hedworth urged Judge James Adkin to pass a suspended prison sentence to enable Hill to seek help to address his alcohol intake.

But Judge Adkin said anyone attacking two officers and causing such disorder in a hospital, to the horror of patients present, had to be jailed immediately, as a deterrent to others.

Imposing an eight-month prison sentence, the judge also put in place a restraining order, prohibiting Hill from trying to contact or approach his former partner for five years.