A MAN who told a police officer he was going to “blow your head off” after being stopped for drink driving has been handed a suspended sentence.

John Doyle, 32, of Alma Street, Cutler Heights, was stopped by police in Tong Street at 9.45pm on November 6, 2018, while driving a BMW 3 Series after being caught speeding.

Prosecutor Heather Gilmore said on approaching the car, an officer could smell alcohol, and Doyle admitted he had last had a drink two minutes ago.

He was told he would have to wait at the scene for 20 minutes to do a breath test, and as he had his passengers began to get agitated he was moved to sit in the police car.

Things escalated when one of the passengers opened the police car door to try and pass Doyle a cigarette, but the officer intervened.

A breath test was then carried out, which came back positive showing Doyle to be double the drink-drive limit, and he became aggressive, calling the officer a “muppet” and a “queer boy”, claiming to “get stopped every day because I’m a bad man”.

Ms Gilmore said: “He then told the officer he would ‘blow his head off’, and he ‘would do 20 years for you.

“He said if he saw the officer in the supermarket with his family he would say something to him.”

A statement read from the officer said he was worried about coming into Bradford when off-duty in case he saw Doyle, and the incident has caused him “stress and sleepless nights”.

He added that he “knew the defendant well from dealings with him, and knew he had the means to carry out what he said”.

The incident has also caused him to stop socialising in Bradford or bringing his family to the city.

Doyle has a raft of previous convictions, including burglaries, aggravated vehicle taking, driving while disqualified, served a six-year jail term for conspiracy to burgle and eight months for escaping custody, and has also committed offences while in prison.

In mitigation, Jeremy Hill-Baker said Doyle was “plainly in drink and frustrated at the situation”.

Mr Hill-Baker said: “These were empty words and qualified threats.

“It was threatening, unpleasant behaviour and he knows he shouldn’t behave like that.”

Bradford Crown Court heard Doyle works as a mechanic, and his partner is currently pregnant.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, the Recorder of Bradford, said Doyle has a “respect problem”

He said: “This was an unpleasant case to say the least.

“I am concerned for emergency workers who come in for a lot of grief, expecially by people in drink.

“This officer was just doing his job. Police are not very well protected in this country, and that is why I have to protect them.

“You kicked off, you over-reacted. It was all verbal and you have expressed remorse.”

Doyle, who sat in the dock sporting a black eye, was handed five months for threatening behaviour and three months for driving over the limit, served consecutively, and an eight-month jail sentence for threats to kill a police officer, served concurrently, all suspended for a year.

He was also ordered to obey a 7pm-7am curfew for two months, undertake 120 hours of unpaid work, banned from driving for 12 months, and had a restraining order placed on him banning him from coming into contact with the police officer while off-duty.

Earlier in the hearing, Doyle said when he was last in Judge Durham Hall’s court, the judge “let him off”.

Judge Durham Hall said: “It is not a good idea to tell the judge the last time I dealt with you I was lenient.

“If I see you again in this court, I will have you locked up.”