A 21-year-old threatened to walk more than 30 miles to his North Walsham home after being found by police asleep in a Bungay bus stop.

Connor Lee Egan, of Foxglove Close, was found at 1am on the morning of February 9 in Bungay, before going on to spit at an officer and inside the police van.

Appearing at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, March 6, Egan pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker, causing criminal damage to a marked police van, and being drunk and disorderly in a public place.

Stacie Cossey, defending, said: “He was asleep on a bus stop and police tried to assist him in getting to his friend’s house.

“He couldn’t remember the way so said he would walk home to North Walsham.

“Police advised him they did not think it was a safe idea and he started swearing at them.

“He was arrested and spat at an officer. Once he was inside the van he was banging his head around and spitting. He also wiped his snotty nose on the perspex.

“He told police he had been drinking and didn’t remember.”

Egan has started undergoing alcohol treatment programmes following the incident last month.

Rob New, defending, said: “Police told him what they wanted him to do and he didn’t want to do it that way.

“It is a reckless assault because he was spitting at the police van.

“When he woke up the next morning he was full of apologies and regret, albeit a little late.

“He is in work and his employer is working with him to make sure he does not behave like this in the future. One of the ways they do this is by giving him work very early in the morning so he has to be sober.

“His behaviour is appalling when drunk but he is addressing those issues.”

Egan was fined £120 and ordered to pay compensation to Suffolk Police for the cleaning of the van, valued at £122.06, as well as £50 compensation to PC Kirk.

He must also pay a £30 victim surcharge and £50 in court costs.