A JUDGE has jailed a man for a prolonged racist attack on his neighbour followed by an “utterly disgraceful” four-hour period of aggressive abuse and assaults on police and medical staff.

Stephen Taylor was described as “a racist” and “a drunken oaf” by Mr Recorder Anthony Hawks as he sentenced him to 26 months in prison at Bradford Crown Court.

Prosecutor Daisy Wrigley said Taylor, 46, was seen shouting racial abuse, hitting his neighbour’s windows, and kicking his door on the evening of May 26 this year.

The neighbour called the police after Taylor smashed a window by punching it.

Taylor then spat in his face and punched him seven or eight times in the head, causing him to fall to the ground and temporarily lose consciousness.

When he ran away Taylor pursued him down the street, punched him again and then sat on him, squeezing his neck until his victim struggled to breathe.

Passers-by intervened but Taylor broke away to continue his attack and threatened: “I’m going to kill you tonight.”

Taylor told officer he'd 'bite his face off' 

When the police arrived it took three officers to handcuff Taylor and bundle him into a van, where he violently headbutted the cage around ten times and knocked out his teeth.

He continued to threaten the accompanying officers and told one that he would “bite his face off”.

Several officers were present when the police van arrived at Calderdale Royal Hospital where Taylor was to be treated for cuts to his hands.

Taylor’s handcuffs were removed so he could go to the toilet, but he began spitting, thrashing his arms and legs around, and grinding his jaw.

Over the next four hours, Taylor continued to be aggressive and abusive to police and medical staff, kicking a physician associate in the head, twisting a doctor’s hand, and spitting blood and spittle at officers.

Miss Wrigley said: “He would calm down and then become aggressive again, calling doctors and nurses c***s and telling them to f*** off.

“There were periods of time when even five officers struggled to maintain control of him.”

'Utterly shameful and disgraceful behaviour'

In a police interview the following day Taylor denied knowing his neighbour, said he could not remember what had happened due to suffering a stress-related epileptic fit, and that he was not racist “as he had black family members and was ginger”.

The court heard that Taylor had a lengthy criminal record including offences of common assault, actual bodily harm, criminal damage, and wounding, for which he was jailed for seven years.

Mitigating, Ella Embleton said Taylor’s offending had been triggered by his alcohol consumption.

She said: “Nothing excuses his behaviour that night. He has owned up to his actions and he is deeply regretful for them.

“Clearly Mr Taylor struggles with drink and it’s that issue which it is necessary to address.”

Sentencing Taylor for what he called “utterly shameful and disgraceful” behaviour, Recorder Hawks said he had an “appalling” criminal record.

He said: “You are a large man and, in my judgment, a dangerous man when you have had far too much to drink.

“What is also clear is that you are a racist.

“The victim of the assault was your neighbour.

“You need to get it through your bigoted head that your neighbour is just as British as you are.

“You were taken to hospital. What then occurred was an utterly disgraceful piece of behaviour on your part which lasted four hours.

“Police officers and medical staff have got very difficult jobs to do. They don’t need to be abused, racially abused, or assaulted by a drunken oaf like you.

“This was a prolonged and disgraceful piece of behaviour which must be marked with immediate imprisonment.”

He jailed Taylor, of Hanson Lane in Halifax, for a total of 26 months and imposed a 10-year restraining order that prevents him from going within 20m of any address his victim lives in.