A MAN struck a police officer after somebody made a false allegation that he had a knife in public, a court heard.

Thomas Jones, of Ffordd Lerry in Wrexham, appeared at Mold Crown Court for sentence on Thursday.

The 24-year-old had admitted at a previous hearing that on May 21 at Wrexham, he assaulted DS Nathan Hosie, a police officer who was acting in the exercise of his functions as an emergency worker.

Rosemary Proctor, prosecuting, told the court that in the early hours of the morning of the offence, police received a report of an incident involving the defendant at his address.

Jones was said in the report to have a knife - which later turned out not to be the case, and appeared may have been a deliberately false allegation, Ms proctor said.

Officers did not know this at the time they attended, and DS Hosie found the defendant standing outside his home.

He Jones to show his hands, but the defendant didn't - he kept them in his pockets and shouted for his dad.

When the front door of his property opened and Jones began to run towards it, DS Hosie was concerned for the safety of those inside the property and so pursued him.

Jones fell before he could reach the door, and was put in handcuffs - following which he shouted and cried at the officers, who eventually calmed him down.

Police searched the defendant and the vicinity, but no knife was found.

By this point, Jones had become very "agitated" and used an offensive remark to DS Hosie.

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He "jabbed his finger" into the officer's face and closed his hand into a fist, which made contact with the face.

Ms Proctor said the offence also put the defendant in breach of a suspended sentence, imposed in 2021 for offences including fraud and possession of counterfeit currency.

Henry Hills, defending, told the court: "He has taken responsibility for the offence at an early stage.

"He is remorseful and asks me to convey his regret that he behaved in this way.

"The circumstances of this offence are unfortunate; it appears Mr Jones was targeted - and continues to be targeted - by an unknown individual who makes regular reports to the police."

He said his client's behaviour was "an adverse reaction to a police response he didn't understand at the time."

"[Jones] was at all times in the curtilage of the home property," Mr Hills said, "but that of course doesn't justify his actions."

Judge Timothy Petts told the defendant: "Someone made a false allegation to police that you were in possession of a knife in public.

"It seems someone has a habit of making these false allegations against you.

The Leader:

"You abused one of the officers and struck him in the face which led to your arrest - any assault on a police officer is serious."

Jones received a 12 month community order with 40 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation days.

He was also ordered to pay a £100 fine for breaching the suspended sentence and £50 compensation to the officer, as well as a £100 contribution to prosecution costs.