'Truly disgraceful behaviour': Yob threatened police while his son pleaded for him to stop

Craig Paul Hirst pushed a settee against the door and hurled abuse at the officers who had been called to the property on The Green in Airedale to reports of a domestic incident.

Outlining the case for the prosecution, Philip Standfast, said the officers were called at around midnight on May 2 last year.

They could hear banging and clattering and then Hirst came to the upstairs window and began shouting at them.

The officers tried to calm him down because there was also child crying at the window, pleading with Hirst to stop.

Hirst told the police to "f*ck off", and said that he had firearms in the flat and a dog.

At one point the 35-year-old shouted: "I'm one of the hardest blokes in the world" and threatened to attack the officers if they tried to enter the building.

Concerned for the child's welfare, they were able to get into flat, despite the settee being pushed up against the door.

It was not until an officer withdrew a Taser and pointed the red dot at Hirst that he eventually relented.

However, he continued to struggle as he was being put in the van and racially abused one officer.

He gave no comments during the police interview.

He eventually admitted a charge of affray and racially-aggravated threatening or abusive words or behaviour.

Hirst, of The Green, Castleford, has six convictions for eight offences, including multiple assaults.

No mitigation was presented during the court hearing after Judge Simon Batiste said he would not be sending him to jail, but warned him that he came close.

He said: "You engaged in a truly disgraceful piece of behaviour in regard to the police.

"What went through your head I struggle to understand, especially as it was all done in front of your young child."

He gave him six months' jail, suspended for two years, 80 hours of unpaid work and 30 rehabilitation days.