A KENDAL family man kicked a police officer after “being persuaded to drink some sanitiser” earlier in the evening.

Carlisle Crown Court heard 45-year-old Wayne Pye had turned violent while in the town centre after police were called to reports of two men fighting at around 8-20pm on July 6.

“They arrived and they found the defendant there,” said prosecutor Charles Brown. “He was abusive towards the police, un-cooperative, and so he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly.”

Pye was transported to a police station and led towards a custody desk.

“He kicked a police officer to the leg, causing some minor reddening to the area,” said Mr Brown, who conceded of a kick captured on CCTV: “It is probably one of the least impressive assaults that this court is likely to witness.”

Pye admitted assaulting an emergency worker and had previous convictions recorded against him but nothing since 2012. He was currently looking after family members “with some measure of success”, the court heard.

Of the kick, Andrew Nuttall, defending Pye, said: “He literally puts his foot out and touches the officer’s leg.

“He is very, very upset about his behaviour on the night. He hasn’t behaved like that for a long period of time, if ever.”

Of the lead-up to the offence, the barrister said: “He blames himself for his own stupidity. Whilst having some drink, he was persuaded to drink the sanitiser.” Mr Nuttall said Pye was “actually lucky to be alive, stating: “He was very ill for two weeks afterwards. In some respects he has suffered enough for his actions.”

Mr Nuttall had earlier said: “He has lost his job as a result of this pandemic. He says he is living day to day, doing the best he can for him and for those people he takes care of.”

Pye, of Glebe Road, Kendal, was given a two-year conditional discharge by Recorder Neville Biddle, who considered mitigation and insisted emergency worker assaults were “serious”.

Recorder Biddle told the defendant after hearing mitigation: “You fully appreciate the idiocy of your behaviour that night.”