AN aggressive nuisance who spat in a Worcester police officer's face after claiming he had Covid-19 will be kept on a much tighter leash - once he gets out of jail.

Jerraldo Collins, 31, was jailed for 22 months for the attack on Sgt Sarah England and now must comply with a criminal behaviour order for three years - or face more time in jail.

The defendant was charged with one offence of assaulting an emergency worker in Worcester. The custody sergeant was attacked on March 27 last year, Collins spitting in her face while claiming he had Covid.

The CBO stipulates that he must not behave in a way that causes, or is likely to cause, alarm, harassment and distress.

This includes, but is not limited, to aggressive and/or threatening behaviour; making threatening phone calls, sending abusive or threatening messages over social media or texts; being verbally abusive.

He is also banned from associating in any public place with certain named individuals and from refusing to leave a premises, area or location when asked to do so by the land owner, their agent, tenant, occupier or a police officer acting in pursuance of a section 35 dispersal direction.

We have previously reported on cases where criminals have weaponised Covid-19. They include Paul Biddle, a father of three, who spat at police officers and told them he hoped they would die of coronavirus.

Biddle was jailed for 27 months.

Alan Bishop, 69, initially denied spitting in the face of a police officer but changed his plea after seeing the CCTV footage in Worcester Magistrates Court.

Magistrates gave Bishop an eight week electronically monitored curfew which will be in place daily between the hours of 7pm and 7am. He was ordered to pay compensation of £650.

Charlotte Cowley spat in a police officer’s face on the eve of the national coronavirus lockdown and assaulted four others, kicking and biting them

The 34-year-old mother-of-two admitted five assaults against emergency workers, all police officers, at Worcester Crown Court.

Three of the assaults happened at an address in Northfield Street on January 21 last year and two at an address in in Back Lane South on March 22 last year.

Police were called to Northfield Street following reports of an assault on a man living there, though no charge was pursued in relation to this.

The judge jailed her for 11 months, half of which she will serve in custody and half in the community on licence.