A Chief Inspector has said an Oldham man who was jailed for spitting at two police officers should serve as a warning to others.

Anthony Winterbottom was jailed for 21 months at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court last week for a string of offences including an assault on two emergency services workers.

The court heard when police were called to an incident in September last year, while the Covid pandemic was ongoing, the 37-year-old spat at them and his saliva almost landed in the mouth of one of the officers.

And Chief Inspector David Swift, of the Oldham district, described spitting as “abhorrent and degrading” and said it could have “serious health implications.”

He said: "As we continue to operate in an extremely challenging time, I am saddened to see officers being assaulted when trying to do their job.

"Covid has been challenging for everyone, and incidents like this should not be happening.

"Spitting is one of the most abhorrent and degrading things to happen to someone, and can have serious health implications for the officers, their colleagues and their families. In addition to the normal health risks posed to those spat at, it increases the risk of Covid transmission and officers, both those spat at and their colleagues, can be removed from frontline policing, subsequently losing critical resource at a time of extremely high demand.

"The dedication and commitment we have seen from our officers is commendable, as they continue to meet every day demand, on top of managing Covid.

"I am extremely pleased the offender has been given a custodial sentence, and would like to thank the courts for taking this so seriously.

"No one should be treated this way, and I would like this to serve as a warning to others."

Winterbottom, of Mansfield Road in Oldham, was also penalised for an attack on his partner in January this year where he bit her nose and smashed a mirror.

He was also jailed for breaching a suspended sentence for an attack on his son by failing to attend meetings and reoffending.

Sentencing him, judge Bernedette Baxter said in relation to the spitting: “People who put themselves on the front line to protect others must know courts will appropriately sentence people who come before them for such offences.”