DEVIZES electrician Thomas Ball will not face a jail sentence after admitting assaulting a police officer with his own CS spray during a drinking spree.

Kennet magistrates were told on Tuesday that Ball, 19, of The Fairway, Devizes, was so remorseful about his conduct that he wrote a letter of apology to PC Tom Kinderman, the man he had attacked.

Rob Welling, prosecuting, told the court that a group of teenage girls had approached PC Kinderman and his colleague at about 9.30pm on the night of April 23 and complained that a drunken man was following them around the town.

The two officers approached Ball, who is over six feet tall and of athletic build, and spoke to him. He was very abusive but they warned him to stay away from the girls and let him go.

But later that evening, they met the girls in The Brittox and they complained Ball was still following them.

By this time Ball had been joined by another man and they both became aggressive when told to leave by the police. The two officers called for assistance as Ball threw a punch at PC Kinderman, which the officer dodged.

While his colleague restrained the other man, PC Kinderman brought out his CS spray and warned Ball he would use it if he continued to be abusive. In reply, Ball threw another punch and then grabbed PC Kinderman's hand and directed the spray into his face at point-blank range.

Despite the discomfort caused by the spray, PC Kinderman managed to handcuff Ball while one of the girls used his radio to call for assistance.

Esther Bisgrove, defending, said her client would be the first to admit his behaviour was shocking and unacceptable. She said: "He is an imposing person of substantial build and the police officers would have felt very threatened."

Miss Bisgrove said that Ball had been through a bad period, with his mother unwell and his father suffering from depression.

On the day in question, Ball had failed his driving test, the last obstacle between him and full qualification as an electrician. He was also celebrating a friend's birthday and had had a lot to drink.

Miss Bisgrove said: "He was horrified to hear that the police considered he had been harassing the girls. He lost his temper and vented his frustrations on the officers."

She presented a number of letters from Ball's employers and friends to prove that he was a man of good character who was normally very placid.

She said: "He is not in a position to disagree with the police version of events because his recollection of the night is very poor. He apologised immediately to the police officer and wrote to him, again apologising for his behaviour."

Presiding magistrate Slater Reynolds told Ball that the bench's sentencing guidelines for assaults on police officers began with custody but, because of his remorse and previous good character, they were looking at community punishment. Ball was sentenced to a 40-hour community punishment order and ordered to pay £80 costs and £150 compensation.