A mechanic spat on a police officer and threatened to 'skin them alive' - before writing a message in his own blood on the walls of a jail cell.

Toby Stewart, 27, from Checkendon, was arrested on July 1, 2023, following an incident at the Henley Royal Regatta.

A man had approached the defendant from behind and attacked him with a chair. Stewart was taken away in a police van, but he quickly became abusive towards responders.

At Reading Crown Court this morning (May 9), prosecuting barrister Hassan Baig said the defendant told one of the officers he would 'skin him alive'.

He also told them that they 'didn't understand who his family were'.

The incident culminated when Stewart - who was injured from the Regatta assault - spat blood at the officer. Stewart was placed in a cell at Loddon Valley Police Station.

When custody staff came to check on him the following morning, they found he had written a message in his own blood on the walls.

The message read: "Look what the police have done to me."

Jenni Dempster KC, defending Stewart, said her client was concerned about the prospect of going to prison.

She told the court: "He is shaken this morning, he is petrified this morning. He is someone that struggles to believe that he was capable of behaving in this way."

The defendant has a prior criminal history, with six convictions for 11 offences.

In 2023, he received a 10-week suspended prison sentence after he was caught driving dangerously in a Mazda RX-8 through the middle of Henley.

Noting that Stewart had entered guilty pleas early on, Recorder Sunaina Srai-Chohan decided against jailing him.

Instead, she extended the suspended sentence order against him by 24 months. In addition, Stewart must abstain from alcohol for two months, and pay £250 in compensation to the officer who he spat at.