A Portsmouth man has been jailed for four months after he deliberately coughed in the face of a fellow shopper in Portsmouth.
Officers from Hampshire Constabulary arrested Gary Phillip Saunders after the incident in ‘Cornucopia’ in Osborne Road, Southsea on Tuesday 14th April.
60-year-old Gary Saunders had entered the store at around 18:00 hours and was stood in the queue around two metres behind his victim, who was being served at the till.
Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard how Saunders then stepped closer to his victim who then asked him to step back.
However, Saunders then became abusive towards the man and threatened him by ‘deliberately aiming’ an ‘exaggerated cough’ at his face.
Saunders, of Osborne Road, Southsea, pleaded guilty to common assault and was jailed for four months.
PC Mark Pilsworth, of the Southsea Neighbourhood Policing Team, said:
“Coughing in anyone’s face is disgusting, but to weaponise coughing at a time like this is thoroughly despicable and will not be tolerated.
“Saunders’ actions caused unnecessary concern for his victim, when he had simply been asked to ensure he was not getting to close.
“I hope this sentence serves as a warning to everyone that we will take action if you choose to behave in this manner.”
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories & videos which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services & NHS by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' back in 2018 was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services & NHS which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of you, our readers.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
Good.