Seven officers injured in a weekend 'unacceptable'

Seven Merseyside Police officers were injured over the past weekend alone

A police chief says she is "shocked and saddened" after seven of her officers were injured in multiple incidents on one weekend.

Merseyside Police's Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said officers had been bitten and kicked, and blood had been spat into the mouth of one female officer during one incident.

In another incident, a man with a large dog and who appeared to be carrying a weapon made threats and ran at officers.

Chief Constable Kennedy said: “It is totally and utterly unacceptable for officers and staff to be assaulted or verbally abused in Merseyside."

'Shocked and saddened'

She said she was "shocked and saddened" to hear of the violence and abuse her officers had been subjected to.

"My officers put themselves in harm’s way to protect the public – the incidents they attend can be, by their nature, chaotic and violent," Chief Constable Kennedy said.

She said they went to work each day knowing they may have to step into a situation that most people would run away from, in order to keep people safe.

“But I will never accept anyone using violence, aggression or being abusive towards officers and staff," she said.

She warned that anyone who crossed that line could expect to face "the full force of the law".

The officers in question were receiving support and were all recovering "as well as can be expected".

She is being kept updated on their welfare.

The incidents referred to included reports of a woman being assaulted by a man at the King Harry guesthouse on Blessington Road in Anfield at around 18:00 BST on Friday.

Officers attempted to restrain a man they saw shouting abuse at staff.

The man was believed to have spat blood into the mouth of a female officer before biting the hand of another and kicking one in the arm.

A 27-year-old Liverpool man was arrested on suspicion of six counts of assaulting an emergency worker, assault with intent to resist arrest and breaching the peace.

He has been released on bail while enquiries continue.

Female officer injured

In a separate incident early on Saturday, police attended a report of a man with a large bulldog refusing to leave an address in St Helens.

He appeared to have a weapon and refused to restrain the dog, before running at officers making threats.

A female officer sustained an injury to her hand.

A 38-year-old man of no fixed address was arrested on suspicion of three counts of assaulting an emergency worker, possession of an offensive weapon, resisting arrest, making threats to commit criminal damage, Section 39 assault, and affray.

He has been released on bail while the investigation continues.

Police have asked anyone with information about these incidents to contact them.