Boozed-up Retford man bit cop and then denied it

A handcuffed Retford man who bit a police officer on the arm shouted "I didn't actually do anything" as he was taken to the ground, a court heard.
The car park at King's Mill HospitalThe car park at King's Mill Hospital
The car park at King's Mill Hospital

Police were called to James Duro's home on St Andrew's Way after he returned, injured and drunk, and began blaming his partner for his injuries, on June 13.

He was taken to King's Mill Hospital for treatment, but became volatile and began flailing his arms, said prosecutor Donna Fawcett.

A struggle took place in the car park, and Duro bit the policeman on his right bicep, leaving a two pence piece-sized welt.

He said: "I didn't actually do anything."

The constable had a tetanus jab and a five-day course of anti-biotics.

Ian Pridham, mitigating, said Duro, a warehouse worker, who had no previous convictions, has been with his partner since 2017 and they have a ten-year-old child.

"This is completely out of character," he said. "That evening he drank beer with a friend and then a bottle of cherry brandy.

"He doesn't drink very often at all, but he clearly had a great deal to drink.

"He came home with a huge black eye and a very swollen cheek. He doesn't know to this day how he got this.

"Initially he was objecting to being arrested because he had done nothing wrong as far as he was concerned.

"There is no breaking of the skin and no sign of teethmarks. He does accept that he caused that. He is embarrassed and quite appalled by his behaviour."

Duro, 27, admitted assaulting an emergency worker, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Thursday.

He received a 12 month community order, with 80 hours of unpaid work and 12 rehabilitation days. He was ordered to pay £250 compensation, with £85 costs and an £85 government surcharge.