A DRUNKEN teenager who lashed out at two police officers will be spending Christmas locked up.

The 17-year-old from Diglis was sprayed with CS gas after he tried to punch and kick the officers outside a shop in Cranham Drive, Warndon, last month, Worcester magistrates heard yesterday.

Mark Soper, prosecuting, said the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was standing outside the Spar shop with a gang of youths on the Warndon street, which has been targeted as a crime hotspot by police.

He said the officers were on patrol on the evening of Friday, November 15 when they approached the gang.

Swore

"He dropped some litter in front of the officers, and they advised him about it," said Mr Soper.

He said the teenager swore at them, blew smoke in their faces and asked them what they were going to do about it.

"He then lashed out at them and they used CS gas on him, but it didn't work at first and he ran away," he said.

"Neither officer was injured, but he was punching and kicking out at them."

He was then arrested and taken to Worcester police station.

The youth, who admitted two counts of common assault, breached a community rehabilitation order imposed on him earlier in the year for theft and assault.

Mark Lister, defending, argued that another community punishment should be imposed because the rehabilitation order had been having a good effect on him.

"Any assault on police is unacceptable, but these particular assaults are at the lower end of the scale," he said.

He said a positive way forward needed to be found to address the issues surrounding his offending.

But the magistrates said they took a dim view of assaults on police officers.

They gave him an eight-month detention and training order in total for his previous offences and the assaults on the police officers.