A man has been jailed after claiming to have Covid-19 and smearing his blood over a police officer's arm and threatening to spit in his face.
John Gray, 26, first started shouting threats about coronavirus when he was "bravely" detained by the landlord's wife in the back yard of The Royal pub, in Hartlepool, following a break-in, a judge at Teesside Crown Court said on Friday.
Gray then threatened the two officers who responded before continuing his "disgraceful" behaviour at James Cook University Hospital, where the police took him for treatment for a broken jaw.
Peter Sabiston, prosecuting, told the judge how Gray refused to wear a mask in the hospital and told police: "I'll spit in your face and see how you like it when you have