A police officer gave up his much-loved frontline role that he served for almost 28 years after he was bitten by a seriously injured man in hospital.

PC Kevin Jones was restraining "aggressive and unpredictable" James Leather at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital where he was admitted after getting involved in a "very serious and savage" assault in Powys.

The 35-year-old from Merseyside was sentenced to a 12-month high level community order and must pay £300 compensation to PC Jones for the trauma he suffered after pleading guilty to assaulting an emergency worker.

The chair of the magistrates’ bench in Welshpool said: "I'm sure you'll agree it was traumatic".

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Leather was arrested on April 7 for excess alcohol and was then taken to hospital for injuries he had suffered from an attack.

Prosecutor Helen Tench said Leather was "disruptive", "very abusive" and "hostile", and wouldn't let nurses treat his injuries.

Leather made threats to assault the police officer and was then restrained on the ground before biting PC Jones' arm and kicking him in the thigh.

Mrs Tench said: "Due to behaviour concerns and his head injuries, the defendant was sedated with a tablet. He became calmer and fell asleep."

The self-employed bricklayer underwent a CT scan for his injuries and was cleaned up before being detained by police.

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Questioned by police, Leather said he "couldn't really remember" what had happened at the hospital but he was "sorry if he did" assault the officer. Leather told police that he was agitated and paranoid because "he'd just had a hiding".

PC Jones told the court in a statement read out by the prosecutor that the assault by Leather caused "real fear" for him and his young family.

"I've been a frontline officer for almost 28 years. I've been punched, kicked, threatened with a knife and had petrol over me.

​"It is not the same psychological impact or has caused me as much worry than when I was waiting for the blood results for infection.

"The last time was when I helped stop a man who was heavily bleeding from self-harm, who had hepatitis."

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PC Jones said the bite, which he feared took out a chunk from his hand, brought back anxiety and worry.

"I'm usually robust but this injury cannot be mitigated by PPE, taser or stab vests.

"It was purely and simply luck saved me from a nasty injury".

PC Jones said he decided to step back from his "much-loved" frontline role after nearly 28 years to take on a desk role investigating domestic abuse.

Robert Hanratty, in mitigation, said: "This isn’t the entire story of the defendant’s involvement with the police.

"The defendant was a victim of a very serious and savage assault. In fact, he jumped into a vehicle to get away from the assailants.

"There were concerns with the head injuries that he sustained. Yes, he'd been drinking but he was in a state of shock and distress with a patchy memory."

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Mr Hanratty explained that magistrates heard evidence about Leather driving away from the scene while under the influence of alcohol.

"The magistrates found that there were special reasons such was the severity of the attack," he added.

"I'm not seeking to minimise what PC Kevin Jones said; he was extremely worried of infection, and you don't know who you are dealing with, but he was in the hospital.

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"I ask you to reflect that Mr Leather himself was the victim of very serious violence that night which no doubt contributed to his very agitated behaviour in hospital."

Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order which includes 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation requirement days to address trauma from his childhood and focus on consequential thinking and victim empathy.

Leather, of Cuper Crescent, Huyton, was also ordered to pay the court £499 which includes £300 compensation to PC Jones, £85 court costs and a £114 victim surcharge.