A MEDICAL receptionist was left shaken after an angry patient told her he would throw acid in her face.

She was approached by David Sharp the day after he had been told it was not possible to make an appointment.

Sharp, 65, appeared at the magistrates’ court in Carlisle on Tuesday and admitted using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress on March 13.

The court heard he went into Wigton Medical Practice and approached the reception desk where Susan Hetherington was working. He said he had spoken to a Sue on the phone the day before and was told there were no appointments.

Prosecutor Pam Ward said: “He said Sue had been nasty to him. He told her, “if I had a cup of acid I would throw it in your face.’

“She said she felt threatened and shaken by the incident and immediately asked for assistance.”

The receptionist was supported by a colleague who noticed the distress in her voice and heard her say the patient had threatened to throw acid in her face, the court heard.

A victim impact statement was read to the court in which Susan Hetherington said she feared Sharp would revisit the surgery and found herself going over the words in her head.

She had to take two days off following the incident and could not bring herself to work on the front desk for a week.

She believed she was so badly effected by the incident because she had thought about how life-changing it would be to be the victim of an acid attack.

Defence lawyer Chris Toms said Sharp made the threat in reference to the phone call the from day before, where he felt the receptionist had been “less than polite to him.”

“He didn’t mean for it to be taken that way. He meant it as an expression of frustration,” he said,

Mr Toms said the defendant lived alone and suffered from medical issues including tinnitus, which affects his hearing and can make him seem abrupt when speaking to people.

The prosecution had applied for a restraining order - not to contact the victim or enter Wigton Medical Practice - but this was not imposed by magistrates as Sharp has since registered elsewhere.

He was fined £328 and must pay a £32 victim surcharge and £85 costs.