A DRIVER assaulted a police officer and stands accused of failing to provide a blood sample after he was stopped in Worcester - but many cases still cannot proceed at the courts because of coronavirus.

Cases continue to be heard at Worcester Justice Centre and Kidderminster Magistrates Court but often little progress can be made because of the virus. The pandemic continues to cause delays and disruptions with many, less urgent cases listed purely for administrative purposes. At Worcester Justice Centre on Wednesday the case of Marcin Przechowski was adjourned.

The 36-year-old stands accused of assaulting an emergency worker (a police constable) in Worcester, failing to provide a blood sample for analysis, requested by police because he was suspected of an offence, and driving a Skoda in the city's Newport Street without a valid policy of insurance. Przechowski of Prestonbrook Close, Ledbury denies failing to provide the sample but admits the other offences on Boxing Day last year.

His case was adjourned until July 17 for a case management hearing, adjourned because of 'exceptional circumstances that have arisen from the Covid-19 virus'. The impact of the virus also prevented cases being settled at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday with defendants informed they would not be dealt with until July 14.

A court official said: "This adjournment will help reduce the number of people that are having to attend the Magistrates’ Court and enable urgent and priority cases to proceed in the meantime."

Emma Bailey of Hunters Close, Droitwich, was stopped by police on September 5 last year in the town's Hunters Way and Westwood Road.

The 31-year-old has already admitted that she had no valid policy of insurance and was driving otherwise than accordance with a licence. Shantell Andrea Benai, 31, of Anne Grove, Tipton denies failing to give information about the identity of a driver alleged to have been guilty of an offence in Droitwich on November 3, 2017.