Ambulance workers who were called to a report of a man having a fit in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis were spat at as they tried to treat him.
Yesterday at Inverness Sheriff Court, 27-year-old Sean MacLeod admitted assault outside the B&M store in the Telford Retail Park on April 9.
Macleod, who now lives in Inverness but previously lived in Dingwall, was jailed for a year backdated to April 11 when he was remanded in custody. His address was given as Inverness Prison.
Fiscal depute Robert Weir told Sheriff Margaret Neilson that a paramedic and an ambulance technician were called to the scene that evening, shortly after beginning their shift.
They had been informed that a man was having a fit outside the store.
“They helped him sit up and he then repeatedly spat at them. It did not land on either individual.
“Due to his actions, they backed off him and returned to their vehicle until the police arrived.”
Officers then traced Macleod to the nearby Farmfoods store and they noticed that he was dribbling profusely from his mouth.
Mr Weir said that Macleod did not display any symptoms of Covid 19 and neither had the emergency workers.
Defence solicitor advocate Shahid Latif said: “His previous convictions are a testimony to a wasted life. When he was released from prison, he had accommodation but was then made homeless.
“For a matter of a few days he was passing from friend to friend and this negative peer group led him back into drugs. Therefore his recollection of this is almost nil as he had been taking street drugs.
“He is thoroughly ashamed of himself and wants to apologise to the individuals involved. There was no justification for this.”