Man jailed for attacking road workers and police

Kieron Wright was sentenced at Ipswich Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to eight offences

A man who punched and racially abused road workers and spat a police officer while claiming to be HIV positive has been jailed for a year.

Kieron Wright, 32, of Fonnereau Road, Ipswich, pleaded guilty to eight charges following the assault at roadworks on Handford Road on 8 October.

During his sentencing, Ipswich Magistrates' Court heard Wright used derogatory and racist language toward the workers and officers feared for their health after being spat at.

The court heard how he had a history of significant violence and had been under the influence of drugs.

Wright, who had been on foot, hit the worker on the chin, had been racially abusive and told another worker to "go back to your country".

He had taken off his shirt "clearly looking for a fight", one witness said in a statement.

Officers arrived shortly before 02:00 BST and the court heard the moment he was restrained on nearby Yarmouth Road, Wright shouted: "I will spit on you; I have HIV; I will rape your sister."

Wright continued to insist he was HIV positive and also spat blood from a cut on the inside of his mouth toward one officer.

Other officers were bitten, punched, kicked in the groin and had an arm twisted, the court heard.

Officers were called at 01:55 BST to Handford Road to reports a road worker had been hit and discovered Wright in Yarmouth Road shortly afterwards

The court heard how Wright had previously been jailed for seven years for rape and had been sentenced for multiple public order offences as well as other assaults on emergency workers.

Max Reeves, defending, said Wright was addicted to Class A drugs, had underlying mental health difficulties and remembered "very little" of that night.

He argued he had expressed "genuine" remorse and pleaded guilty at the "earliest opportunity".

"He knows this is the time of his life to turn things around before things escalate," Mr Reeves said.

Wright pleaded guilty to:

• six counts of assault by beating of an emergency worker

• one count of assault by beating

• one count of using racially aggravated or abusive words with intent to cause harassment, alarm, or distress

Supt Andy Martin said it was becoming "more frequent" that officers were being assaulted

Supt Andy Martin, southern area commander for Suffolk Police, said assaults against road workers were "fortunately seldom reported", but that did not mean they did not happen.

"This was clearly an unprovoked incident, people going about their day job, trying to keep other people safe," he said.

"When they've tried to challenge that behaviour they've been met with really undue violence.

"Equally, officers have turned up... and been subject to the same reaction."

Paul West said more and more road workers were being assaulted

Paul West, cabinet member for operational highways at Suffolk County Council, said road workers were being attacked "more often than you would think".

"It's all unacceptable and we're asking everybody who might be frustrated queuing in traffic just to think again," he said.

"People who are working to improve the state of the roads and lay infrastructure are just ordinary working people and they deserve respect because they are enabling us to get about safer."