A MAN has been jailed today for a brutal attack on a police officer in Basingstoke.

Craig Radbourne, 25, attacked Sergeant Kerry Lawrence on July 6 last year, banging her head against the ground several times before back up arrived.

The attack was captured on the officer’s body-worn video camera, Winchester Crown Court heard.

Radbourne, of Stanmore Gardens, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, but formerly of Flaxfield Road, Brookvale, Basingstoke, appeared in the dock at Winchester Crown Court today having admitted a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm.

Sgt Lawrence had been called to Church Square in the early hours of July 6 last year, to a report of a burglary in progress.

She arrested Radbourne on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, and he was handcuffed and placed in her police vehicle.

But before additional units arrived, he struck out at the officer and banged her head against the ground, in what Judge Susan Evans described as a shocking and brutal attack.

Judge Evans said the effect of the attack on Sgt Lawrence, who was in the armed forces for seven years and has been with the police for a decade, was frightening.

She said: “She was distressed at how her family would react. She had difficulty sleeping and has been playing the incident over in her head.

"You took away her confidence.”

She added: "To bang someone's head on the pavement is an incredibly dangerous act.

“You made off from the scene but thankfully others came to her aid.”

Radbourne was jailed for 36 months.

After the hearing, Chief Inspector Simon Dodds said: “Across the country, police officers work extremely hard to keep their local communities safe. They come to work knowing that their job has an element of risk, as part of their duty to protect the public.

“However assaulting an officer must never be seen as just part of the job. It is unacceptable. This was a disgusting attack on a member of my team, who works tirelessly to serve her community.

“I know it was an extremely traumatic experience for Sgt Lawrence and her family and it also had a significant impact on her team and others at Basingstoke Police Station. I am pleased that the courts have recognised the seriousness of this offence in the sentence passed today.

“Sergeant Lawrence is now back on full duties, which is to her absolute credit.”

John Apter, chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation, said: “Police officers accept that they perform a dangerous and unpredictable job. I am pleased that the judge has given an appropriate sentence for this vicious and unprovoked attack on PS Lawrence.

“This should send a strong message to the public that assaulting a police officer is not acceptable in any circumstances.”