A ROUGH sleeper who racially abused a security guard and spat on a police officer after he was woken up has been jailed.

Lee Howe, 38, was also foul-mouthed to two policewomen called to deal with him outside a Jobcentre at 5.20am on Wednesday, said Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting.

His bad behaviour continued when he was taken in custody to York Magistrates' Court, where he was so disruptive he had to be removed from the dock to the court cells and was sentenced in his absence.

Howe, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated words and behaviour and assaulting a police emergency worker.

“The court will simply not tolerate this kind of racial abuse or assaulting an officer,” district judge Adrian Lower told him.

He jailed Howe for 16 weeks and ordered him to pay £150 compensation each to the security guard and police officer.

Ms Tyrer said the security guard’s company had the contract to check certain city centre properties overnight including the Jobcentre in Monkgate.

But when he tried to go inside the building, he found Howe sleeping in the doorway and blocking his path.

He woke him and asked him to move because he had to check the interior of the building. Howe refused to leave and the security guard, who was feeling sorry for him because it was raining, tried to reason with him. Howe was shouting at him.

Eventually he contacted his company who told him to ring police.

Two police officers arrived and heard Howe use two racial insults towards the security officer as well as making racial remarks.

He was derogatory about the police officers, calling them names.

They started to arrest him and he spat on one officer’s arm with spray landing on her face.

“I don’t go to work to be assaulted especially not spat on,” the officer said in her statement. “This incident made me feel disgusted.”

Howe has previous convictions for assaulting police officers and racially aggravated behaviour or words. At the time of the incident, he was on post-sentence supervision by the probation service.

Andrew Tinning, for Howe, said he was homeless, or he would not have tried to sleep outside the Jobcentre.

“He is someone clearly with mental health difficulties,” said Mr Tinning.

Howe had had a council house in Kirkstall, Leeds, but had lost it because of rent arrears.

Although he had kept out of trouble for a year, the probation service were preparing to take court action against him for not complying with the post-sentence supervision.