A POLICE officer who was spat on during the height of the second wave of Covid-19 was so worried about infecting his family that he stripped off his uniform on his doorstep.

The constable was attacked in Burnley by drug user Ria Moore, who was furious that police had arrested her boyfriend six days before Christmas last year.

The incident happened during the surge in cases caused by the Kent variant, which led to lockdown restrictions being reintroduced by the government.

Moore was spared a jail sentence after a judge heard how she moved to Devon and overcame her drug problems in the 11 months since the incident.

PC Daniel Brown was sickened by the attack and made a statement, saying he was so worried about the danger of infection that he removed his uniform trousers and stab vest before entering his home.

Moore, aged 40, of Tristan Close, Exeter, admitted assaulting an emergency worker and was ordered to complete 21 days of rehabilitation activities as part of a two year community order.

She was also ordered to pay £150 compensation rather than the statutory surcharge by Judge Peter Johnson at Exeter Crown Court.

He told her: "What you did was outrageous. You were abusive towards the police and particularly towards PC Brown who you went on to spit at twice, first on his trouser leg and then on his uniform vest.

"He was clearly horrified by what you did because this was at a time when we are living with a pandemic. He had to change on his doorstep when he returned home from duty because he was so concerned at what you had done."

Miss Sarah Johnson, prosecuting, said Moore and her then boyfriend were among a group who were involved in an incident in Burnley at 2.45 am on December 19, 2020.

She became agitated and spat at the same officer twice, with the spittle landing on his vest and trousers. He made a victim statement saying he felt degraded by the assault.

Miss Felicity Payne, defending, said has overcome a drug problem since moving to Devon and impressed the substance abuse team by her commitment.

She has also made progress on sorting out her housing problems and ending a cycle of homelessness that led to her offending.