A THUG admitted spitting at a policewoman and kicking out at officers.

Ryan Dobbie had been arrested and was complaining about being put in handcuffs in Hove.

The 32-year-old shouted: “Get your f****** hands off me or I will bang you out.”

He claimed he had only had one pint of alcohol and that his drink was spiked before the incident.

But he later admitted he had downed five or six pints.

Officers were called to Boundary Road after he arrived at an address.

As he was led into the prison van, he spat at PC Zoe Baillie, with spittle landing on her arm.

Body-worn camera footage also showed him kicking PC Jamie Harwood.

At Hove Crown Court Dobbie admitted two counts of assaulting an emergency worker. He was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work over the incident in November 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

Richard Elliott, prosecuting, revealed Dobbie has previous convictions for assault in 2019, and was jailed in 2010 for aggravated burglary for 13 months. He was also previously convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The prosecutor said Dobbie was too drunk to remember the latest incident. Gareth Burrows, defending, said his client has battled addiction to class A drugs. Dobbie, a father-of-two, has been off drugs since the incident. Mr Burrows said his client has made good progress on a previous community order to turn his life around, with no absences or breaches of his unpaid work. The probation service noted that Dobbie, of Henhill Site, Brighton, has “engaged well”.

Judge Anne Arnold agreed and said that despite the incident being serious, Dobbie has shown he has the “capability” of being dealt with in the community. ordered him to complete more unpaid work, with 40 rehabilitation sessions and told Dobbie to pay £100 court costs.