A man who spat and kicked at officers has been told the only reason he is not going to jail is because of his clear record and early guilty plea.

It was heard at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday how police were tasked to a disturbance of a male fighting with his family on March 8 at around 3.25pm.

When police arrived at the address, William Hyde (22), of Sycamore Drive, Enniskillen, was aggressive and was deemed a danger to himself and the public.

While police were escorting Hyde to a vehicle, he spat in the face of one officer and continued to be violent, spitting three further times, which resulted in a spit-and-bite guard being used.

Hyde also kicked the thigh of one officer, and when the spit guard was removed by a member of his family, he spat again at an officer, hitting their eye and nose.

The defendant was taken to the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) due to the combination of alcohol and drugs he was alleged to have taken that day.

The court heard he spat in the police vehicle during the journey.

He also attempted to headbutt a police officer, and continued spitting at police, which led to an officer wearing a face shield while trying to restrain him.

At the hospital, Hyde kicked a chair, and bed, and threatened to “wreck the place”, while also resisting and remaining aggressive to police and medical staff.

When Hyde was interviewed, he said he had no real recollection of events due to the alcohol and drugs he took.

Steffan Rafferty, Hyde’s barrister, spoke of his client’s “utter disgust” for his behaviour and he wanted to convey to the police officers his apologies.

He said the incident could only be described as a “terrible sequence of events which unfolded” and Hyde acknowledged his wrongdoing.

Referring to the pre-sentence report, Mr. Rafferty said Hyde had well-documented mental health issues and reiterated what Hyde said during his police interview – that he had little to no recollection of what happened.

Hyde, he continued, had consumed a lot of alcohol over the previous day and a half, combined with his medication and illicit substances he was able to obtain, and described it as a “terrible concoction” which resulted in appalling behaviour.

Mr. Rafferty said Hyde had fallen out with his family, and matters spiralled out of control, and he behaved in a way he would not normally do.

District Judge Steven Keown told Hyde he was staying out of jail by the skin of his teeth, and said society was better served using probation to try and “nip this in the bud” and address any background issues Hyde has.

Hyde was convicted of eight counts of assault on police, criminal damage, resisting police, two charges of disorderly behaviour, and attempted criminal damage.

He was given an 18-month probation order, and ordered to pay compensation of £200 to three police officers, and £73.50 in compensation for the cleaning of the police car.