A 21-year -old man had been aggressive and confrontational with police custody staff and claimed he had hidden a blade to slit his wrists, a court heard.

Officers had to use force to search him and a sergeant was in pain and a second officer had a sore arm afterwards, magistrates at Llandudno were told.

Kevin Harrop, of Maes y Dre, Abergele, admitted behaving in a violent manner by resisting being searched last April at St Asaph. Prosecutor Diane Williams said he had received a suspended jail term since then for similar conduct weeks later.

  Harrop, on benefit, also admitted failing to comply with a curfew for ten hours in August.

  But he was spared jail again and instead the court imposed a 20 weeks overnight curfew. The two officers were each awarded £30 compensation and Harrop has to pay £170 costs.

Court chairman Brian Cossey warned Harrop :”Don’t go away from here with any illusion. You do anything else and you are straight to prison. We don’t give these sentences for fun.”

  Deborah Davies, defending,  insisted there had been a change in Harrop’s attitude and said he hadn’t committed any new offences.

“I ask you to give him this opportunity to continue with the suspended sentence and curfew,” the solicitor urged the magistrates.