A man has been jailed after spitting at police officers and claiming to have symptoms of coronavirus. Paul Leivers 48, from Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire, was handed a 12-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of assault on an emergency worker.
It is believed to be one of the first such cases in the country since new powers were given to police last week. Leivers was arrested on Thursday in Mansfield and then went on to spit at Nottinghamshire Police custody officers.
He appeared in front of District Judge Leo Pyle at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Saturday March 28). Leivers did not have coronavirus, nor the symptoms of the disease, the court heard. For live updates throughout the day on the coronavirus