A MAN who hurled tiles from a rooftop into the street in a five hour siege is behind bars for assaulting a police officer just weeks after he was given a suspended prison sentence.

In October last year 29-year-old Jamie Cooper was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years by a judge who told him he was being given a chance to reform and tackle his alcohol abuse.

But Bolton Crown Court heard that on February 28 Cooper, who was breaking lockdown restrictions by being at an address which was not his own, kicked out at a police officer as he tried to arrest him on suspicion of assaulting his partner.

She subsequently retracted her complaint and Cooper, of Phethean Street, Farnworth, was not charged with the offence but he was charged with assaulting the police officer.

Judge Graeme Smith was told how the officers were on patrol in their police van when Cooper, who was “clearly intoxicated” flagged them down.

Cooper asked to be taken to his mother’s home, but on the journey his behaviour deteriorated.

“He was making allegations against others and making threats but he was fairly incoherent and they couldn’t get a clear picture of what exactly had transpired,” said Colette Renton, prosecuting.

The officers then learned about the alleged previous assault on Cooper’s partner and arrested him.

Miss Renton told how Cooper was in the back of the van, distressed and hitting his head when officers told him they needed to search him before taking him to the police station.

But the court saw body-worn footage of Cooper kicking out at one of the officers.

He pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker.

Mira Hammad, defending, stressed that the officer had not been injured and stated that Cooper, who has been diagnosed with ADHD and mild autism, had been “lashing out in frustration” rather than deliberately trying to hurt anyone.

“He completely accepts his behaviour was unacceptable,” she said, adding that, until then, Cooper had been doing well with his supervision by the probation service.

In October last year he was sentenced after climbing onto the roof of his terraced house, ripping tiles from the roofs of neighbouring properties and hurling them into the street, damaging police cars and other vehicles.

When he was finally arrested he blew into the face of an officer, telling him he had Covid-19.

Judge Smith sentenced Cooper to 16 months in jail, including activating part of the suspended prison sentence.

He told Cooper: “You were acting in breach of the lockdown restrictions and you had drunk to excess, something which you know is a problem.”