A CRIMINAL escaped a police officer’s attention after he was allowed out of the hospital for a smoke, a court heard.

Earlier on May 10 Khyl Haines, 37, of Marsh Street, Barrow, had hurled what Judge Richard Clews described as 'unpleasant' abuse at a neighbour.

Prosecutor Mercedeh Jabbari told Preston Crown Court Haines had started shouting at 'everyone who passed by' in the street at 2pm. 

At 8.30pm, Haines started walking up Marsh Street towards some children raising the attention of the neighbour, the court heard. Haines apologised to him for making noise while approaching him. 

He replied: "You're not sorry for the noise, you have been doing it all day. Can you get off my property?" 

Haines swore at him and the verbal exchange continued as Haines began insulting the neighbour for being Scottish, the court heard. 

In the victim impact statement, he said he was Irish and his wife was Scottish. He said the incident left him 'annoyed, angry and upset.' "My wife could hear," he said, "[we] never should be subject to such behaviour." 

An hour later, Haines was arrested. Ms Jabbari said he attempted to 'briefly resist.' He told officers: ‘I didn't say anything racist to those people’, said Ms Jabbari.

The court heard when he got to the cells he asked to have a cigarette. When he was denied this he hit his head on the door, and it started bleeding, it was said.

 

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After being assessed, he was taken to hospital. His handcuffs were removed and not reapplied, the court heard. "He was permitted to have a cigarette outside the hospital building," Ms Jabbari said. 

The police officer moved away to make a phone call to the defendant's sister, Ms Jabbari continued. 'Without warning,' the defendant ran way from the officer, and despite shouts to stop they lost sight of him,” she said.

Police attended his address the next day and found Haines asleep in the bedroom, the court heard. When asked when he ran away, Haines told officers: "I ran away because I didn't want to spend the night in the cell on your [expletive] mattresses." 

Mitigating, Rachel Faux told the judge: "He can be properly managed in the community." Ms Faux told the court he had bipolar effective disorder. Haines pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment and escaping from lawful custody.

Judge Clews told Haines: "The psychiatric report does suggest you were unwell at the time and you were psychotic." He said that did not 'excuse your behaviour but put it in context.'

He said Haines had to take steps to deal with his mental health and he would not be able to use this argument again if he repeated the offence. The judge said the case was likely only in Crown Court rather than Magistrates because he escaped lawful custody. 

Haines received a 12-month community order, a drug rehabilitation requirement, £150 compensation and a 12 week curfew. He was also handed a restraining order banning him from contacting his neighbour.