A DRUNK A&E patient at Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary yelled abuse and threats at staff before assaulting two police officers.

Dean Haughan, 29, who had earlier being arrested on suspicion of being involved in large-scale public disorder, aimed a tirade of upsetting abuse at the police officers who were sent to question him, at one point spitting at the male officer and then kicking the woman constable in the leg.

At Carlisle Crown Court, the defendant, of John Street, Carlisle, admitted two charges of assaulting an emergency worker.

Prosecutor Beccy McGregor said Haughan directed verbal abuse - including homophobic insults - at the A&E staff who were helping him after he arrived at the hospital on July 14. In n a video taken by police, he is seen sitting in a treatment room with a head wound, the two police officers standing beside him.

Despite their efforts to talk to him reasonably, he became increasingly abusive.

Over several minutes, he can be heard threatening the officers, telling one he would kill him and then attempting to spit in the officer's face.

Miss McGregor said: "He threatened to attack them while they were off duty."

Haughan also tried to headbutt one of the officers

As he became increasingly violent, one of the officers used a pepper spray to subdue Haughan.

They also put him in leg restraints.

His abusive behaviour continued even after he was taken to the city's Durranhill Police HQ, where he had to be put in a cell without being read his rights.

The following day, he denied spitting at the officer, saying he would never do that.

Miss McGregor outlined the defendant's criminal background - a record that includes 108 offences, 15 of them being offences against the person.

There were also a large number of public order offences.

Jeff Smith, for Haughan, said that defendant had that night been the victim of an assault, though he had drunk more than he should have done. "He must conceded that his behaviour at the hospital was unacceptable - and appalling," said the lawyer.

Passing sentence, Judge James Adkin told the defendant: "It was pretty disgraceful. "The hospital would have been full of individuals wanting to be seen by medical staff." The last thing they would have wanted was to see that kind of bad behaviour, said the judge, who jailed Haughan for six months.