Fareham electrician who had admitted spitting at police in Gosport 'remembers nothing'

Electrician Louis Barnes, 31, of Highlands Road, Fareham, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court due to be sentenced over the April 7 incident during lockdown.

Hampshire police previously said officers responding at around 8pm to reports of anti-social behaviour and an assault in a flat in South Street, Gosport, had found Barnes nearby.

It was then he launched the attack on the police officer, who was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham for treatment.

At an earlier hearing Barnes admitted common assault and causing actual bodily harm.

But today Robert Harding, told the court: ‘The defendant informed me that whilst in police custody he suffered concussion.’

This may have affected his decision to plead guilty, the court heard.

Prosecutor Tom Wright said Barnes had ‘reported to have no memory of things’ from the incident.

Adjourning the case for hearing to decide if Barnes can revoke his pleas, judge David Melville QC said: ‘There’s a suggestion that you may, conceivably, may have had concussion.’

He bailed Barnes with a curfew to stay at home between 8pm and 5am until the next hearing on July 30.

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