A 41-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed after admitting punching his long-term partner and racially abusing a police officer.

Paul Rothan, of the Avenue, Welland, near Malvern, appeared before Worcester Magistrates on Thursday and admitted five charges including assaulting his girlfriend and a separate assault on a police officer.

He also admitted a racially aggravated charge of using threatening or abusive behaviour towards a police constable and breaking plant pots and a cordless telephone.

Rothan’s partner Patricia Berry had been having an evening out at a neighbour’s house on Saturday, August 2, and returned home in the early hours of Sunday morning.

She went into her kitchen but Rothan walked in and without warning punched her in the back of the head.

Fearing a confrontation, she went upstairs to bed but Rothan followed her.

Emma Lile, prosecuting, said: “He followed and got into bed and said he would wait until the next day then smash up her car, her house and then kill her.”

She went to work the next day but after receiving text messages from Rothan became concerned and went to a neighbour’s house to call the police.

Rothan was then seen outside his partner’s house smashing garden plant pots but when two police constables arrived to take Miss Berry’s details, Rothan approached and aimed punches at the two.

He swung for PC Nicola Nevin and then punched her colleague PC Gary Jones who despite ducking was struck in the top of the head.

More officers then arrived including PC Gary Otun who Rothan started racially abusing, threatening to “deal with him” later, according to Miss Lile.

Andy Childs, defending, said Rothan had got drunk following the row with his partner but was now “looking critically at his conduct”.

He added: “Mr Rothan is upset about the way he conducted himself towards both the PCs and PC Otun.”

Rothan was sentenced to three months each for assaulting PC Jones and Miss Berry, and 14 days in lieu of fines from previous offences together with using threatening and abusive behaviour.

By pleading guilty Rothan also triggered two suspended three month sentences for seperate unrelated driving offences.

All sentences are to run concurrently meaning Rothan will spend three months behind bars.