A drunk man who threatened to stab police officers and 'cut off their heads' while shouting racist abuse outside a Midlands train station has been jailed for nine months.
Incident at Nottingham station
Hayden Wright, 31, of no fixed address, was 'drunkenly shouting' at people on the platform of Nottingham railway station at around 6.40pm on April 22. A staff member approached him to ask how they could help, and he told her he wanted to leave the station. While being escorted out, Wright said he wanted to headbutt the staff member and 'do some damage'. He continued to repeat this threat, acting erratically and swearing aggressively, leaving the worker fearing for her safety.
Arrest and abuse
British Transport Police officers were called and found Wright sitting outside the station, still acting aggressively. As he was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence, Wright became more aggressive, pushed the officers, and began shouting that he was going to stab them and cut off their heads before racially abusing them. He was further arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and continued the abuse while being transported to custody.
Court and sentence
Mansfield Magistrates' Court heard the case on June 24. Wright pleaded guilty to two counts of using threatening words with intent to cause fear and two counts of racially aggravated provocation of violence. He was sentenced to nine months in prison.
Following the hearing, BTP Constable Simon Cantrill said: "Wright's actions that day were frankly horrific. He directed vile abuse at a member of rail staff who understandably feared for her safety. I'm therefore very pleased to see Wright behind bars for his actions and hope it sends a clear message that this behaviour will never be tolerated."
Police statement
Cantrill added: "There is no place for violent or intimidating behaviour towards rail staff or to police officers while they work, and just as we have in this case, we will always do everything in our power to ensure offenders face justice. I would urge anyone who witnesses this type of behaviour to report it to us by texting 61016, or dial 999 in an emergency."
