A DRUNKEN Worcester thug kicked a police officer during a foul-mouthed rant after he fell over in the back of a police van when it turned a corner.

Jack Payne, who was handcuffed in the van, fell off the bench on his way to Worcester Police Station.

When an officer tried to see if he was okay, the defendant kicked him in the knee.

The 24-year-old dad of Britannia Road, Worcester, admitted assaulting an emergency worker when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Friday.

The nuisance, who is already subject to a criminal behaviour order, also admitted he was in breach of a suspended sentence order.

This was imposed on September 4 last year (14 months suspended for two years) for affray and criminal damage after Payne threw tiles off a roof in All Saints Road in Worcester, causing £5,000 of damage.

Police officers were called to reports of yet another disturbance and potential domestic incident involving the lout in Ledbury on November 14 last year.

Payne had been asked by the woman to leave the address but he refused said David Iles, prosecuting. A police officer and special constable arrived at the scene.

"The officers found the defendant to be heavily intoxicated. They attempted to reason with him but he refused to leave and became abusive" said the prosecutor.

Payne was arrested to prevent a breach of the peace. En route to Worcester in a marked police van officers rounded a corner and Payne fell off a bench so officers stopped to investigate, opening the doors of the van.

An officer can be heard on body worn camera saying: "Jack, sit up. You can't sit on the floor mate."

However, Payne swore at the officer who was trying to help him. "Then he kicked out with his right leg and made contact with the constable's right knee, causing his leg to jolt backwards which caused immediate pain and discomfort behind his knee" said Mr Iles.

Payne could also be heard shouting: "I'm going to kick you in the teeth! I'm going to kick you so hard!"

Barry Newton, defending, said the officer did not require medical treatment and there had been no lasting injury. He also stressed that Payne had entered a timely guilty plea. Payne, a former construction worker, has been in custody since November 14. "Unfortunately he has been brought up in an environment where alcohol is abused within the family," said Mr Newton.

He said his client's alcohol intake had increased dramatically since the breakdown of a relationship. "In essence it's the grip alcohol has had on him that has led, almost inevitably, to all of his offending" said the city solicitor.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright told the defendant that, at just 24, he had already accumulated a really significant record of offending - 44 offences.

He told him he had failed to comply with a community order in 2014, failed to comply with a protection order in 2015, breached a criminal behaviour order in 2016, committed an offence of battery and resisting an officer in 2017, resisted an officer in 2018, committed a public order offence in 2019 which resulted in a community order which he then breached. This resulted in a suspended sentence order which he had not complied with. He said Recorder David Mason had given him a further suspended sentence for the criminal damage and affray when Payne had appeared last September.

Judge Cartwright said Payne on that occasion would have left the court knowing full well that if he committed a further offence within those two years he could expect to serve 14 months.

"That's what happened - pretty soon after the suspended sentence was imposed" said Judge Cartwright.

The judge revoked an existing community order and jailed Payne for 15 months.

No order was made for costs or compensation.