Man threatened and spat at ambulance workers

Rawson was sentenced to three months' imprisonment at Lincoln Crown Court

A man spat at, threatened, and tried to kick paramedics and ambulance workers who were trying to help him.

James Rawson was put in the back of an ambulance following a single-vehicle crash on Grimsby Road in Louth last July.

Lincoln Crown Court heard the 56-year-old was initially found unconscious in the road and became aggressive after receiving medical treatment.

Rawson, of King Street, Rotherham, pleaded guilty to four charges of assaulting an emergency worker and a separate bail offence, and was sentenced to three months in prison.

'I'll have you'

Prosecutor David Eager said Rawson spat at a trainee paramedic and kicked out at a female paramedic and an ambulance technician while being taken to hospital on 10 July 2023.

Mr Eager said he also clenched his fist at a male paramedic and made threats such as "I'll have you" and "I've killed six people, you'll be the seventh".

In a victim impact statement, a senior paramedic described it as one of the worst incidents in his 11-year career.

The trainee paramedic said it was the most aggressive incident during her first year of training, while the ambulance technician said they did "not come to work to be assaulted".

'Ashamed'

The court heard Rawson had been due to be sentenced on 12 September but failed to surrender to his bail after arriving at court drunk.

He was eventually remanded into custody on 18 September.

The court heard Rawson had a long history of previous convictions, including assaulting an emergency worker in 2021.

Tom Heath, mitigating, said: "Clearly these are horrible offences on public servants who were only doing their jobs and trying to help him.

"He is rightly ashamed of his behaviour."

Passing sentence, Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight said it was clear there had been a psychological impact on the paramedics.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.