A man who pierced the tyre of a PSNI car with a needle after carrying out an assault in Belfast has been jailed for six months.
Declan Kinnear (47) also spat at a policewoman during one of the attempts to arrest him in the city centre.
Belfast Magistrates' Court heard police were called to an incident outside McDonald's at Donegall Place on March 28 this year.
Prosecutors said another man found nearby had suffered an injury above his left eye.
Kinnear, with an address at Verner Street in the city, was detained on suspicion of carrying out the assault.
"A number of needles were seized from the scene, including one the defendant had put through the side wall of a tyre on the police vehicle," a Crown lawyer disclosed.
Kinnear began to spit after he was put into the car.
He was stopped again at Queen Street on April 29 for a suspected breach of bail conditions.
At that stage, according to the prosecution, he started spitting on the ground and inside the police vehicle.
"He spat over the seats and at the constable," the lawyer added.
The car had to be taken off the road for deep cleaning due to Kinnear's behaviour.
He pleaded guilty to charges of common assault, criminal damage and assault on police.
His solicitor acknowledged: "They are unsavoury offences reflective of a man moving from hostel to hostel, experiencing difficulties with alcohol and getting himself in a bad state in and around the city centre."
District Judge George Conner heard the assault victim was someone Kinnear knew and drank with.
Imposing a total sentence of six months custody, Mr Conner said: "Spitting on anyone is particularly offensive."
