A police officer who went to help a 22-year-old woman who was self-harming was bitten on the arm.
Blackburn magistrates heard that Shabana Patel was sitting on the floor surrounded by broken glass and had a cut to her arm.
But when he went to arrest her for her own safety Patel bit him on the right arm, breaking the skin and drawing blood. Patel, of Winmarleigh Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer. She was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £65 costs.
Michael Blacklidge, defending, said his client had mental health problems and had not taken her medication for two days before the incident. Her brother had raised the alarm and both the police and ambulance service attended.
"The police thought she needed to be removed for her own safety and if she had been able to understand that she would have been taken by the ambulance rather than the police," said Mr Blacklidge. "She is a young lady with many problems."
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