A PATIENT at a Devizes mental health unit, who was allowed out for an evening with friends, ended up in court charged with being drunk and disorderly and assaulting a police officer.

Colin Makepeace, 32, of Little England, Chippenham, who admitted both charges at Kennet Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, had been a voluntary patient at Green Lane Hospital for two and a half weeks when he was allowed to go out for the evening on March 6.

Prosecuting, Amanda Sawetz said police officers were called to a disturbance in the car park behind Snuff Court, Devizes, at about 1.30am.

They found a number of people shouting and Makepeace in a tearful state.

He smelt strongly of alcohol. They offered to take him back to Green Lane but he swore at them and said, "you're not taking me anywhere", upon which he pushed PC Nick Fairbairn in the chest and sent him sprawling into a flower bed.

Makepeace was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and in the custody room kicked PC Fairbairn.

Magistrates called for an all options pre-sentence report and warned Makepeace they had to consider jail as one of those options.

They also wanted to see a psychiatric report and adjourned the case until April 5.