A man who bit a police officer during a Christmas night out has been jailed for 20 weeks.

James George Beech was also banned from entering licensed premises, and buying or being sold alcohol for six months.

Beech, of Church Close, Lonan, pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting a police officer and one of cannabis possession.

Prosecuting advocate Rebecca Cubbon told the High Bailiff that a taxi driver was taking 22-year-old Beech home on December 19 at 2am.

When he arrived in Lonan he found that Beech had fallen asleep and could not be woken.

The driver called the police who arrived and managed to rouse Beech who was then asked to pay the £20 fare.

However, Beech was said to have started swearing telling the police where to go and then barged past them to try to go into a house.

However, the occupant of the house said that they did not know Beech and that he must have got the wrong address.

Beech continued swearing and trying to get into the house then started to kick out at police.

He was put on the ground but his anger continued as he spat out with his spittle landing on one officer’s arm and chest.

Beech tried to throw punches and police then tried to restain him using Pava spray.

However, he then bit one officer on the hand and spat at her with the spit landing in a cut.

Beech was eventually restrained using leg restraints and handcuffs and taken to police headquarters.

Once in custody, police found eight grams of cannabis, valued at £160, on him.

Both police officers were said to have had to go to the hospital’s accident and emergency department and receive antibiotics due to the spitting incidents.

When interviewed by police Beech said he had gone to the Sidings in Castletown at first on his work Christmas night out.

He said he had then got a bus to Douglas and gone to 1886 bar in Regent Street but said he could not remember much of the offences, apart from being down on the ground and unable to breathe.

He said he thought it was a bad dream and that he did not usually drink when he woke up in custody.

Defence advocate Louise Cooil handed in references for her client and said: ’It’s clear intoxication has been the over-riding contributing factor.’

Ms Cooil referred to a probation report which said that Beech said he did not usually drink but people with him had been buying him two pints instead of one to get him drunk.

’He has succumbed to peer pressure,’ said the advocate. ’He is not someone who goes out and drinks. He will have one pint and that is it. He can’t recall when he last had a drink after this night.

’He is not a young man who comes before the court regularly for public order offences. This is out of character. It is not that he has taken hold of officers, it occurred within a general fracas on the ground. He has felt ashamed of his actions.’

High Bailiff Jayne Hughes told Beech: ’Any assaults on police officers are always considered serious, particularly when they involve biting or spitting. In your case they involved both. This is an extremely serious offence.

’Time and time again these courts say to people that assaults on police officers carry custodial sentences. The assaults were also in the run up to Christmas when police would have been extremely busy.’